1985 12th June
Iberian Accession Treaties
Delors welcomed the accession treaties for Spain and Portugal as a major expansion of democratic Europe.
European integration · permanent subject timeline
Spain and Portugal Join the EEC, 1986
The third enlargement of the European Communities. This page combines historical context with 4 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database EEC archive.
Historical context
Spain and Portugal Join the EEC, 1986: overview and significance
What happened?
Spain and Portugal joined the European Communities on 1 January 1986 following their transitions from dictatorship to democratic government.
Why was it important?
Iberian accession expanded the Community to twelve members and strengthened its role in the democratic and economic integration of southern Europe.
World History Database records
Spain and Portugal Join the EEC, 1986 timeline
The records below are selected from the 936-record EEC and European integration archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1985
1986
1986 1st January
Spain and Portugal Join Communities
Delors welcomed Spain and Portugal as Community members, expanding the European Communities to twelve states.
1986 1st January
Portugal Joins European Community
Portugal becomes the 12th member of the EU
1986 1st January
Spain Joins European Community
Apain becomes the 11th member of the EU
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database EEC records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
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