Changes and Continuity in the National Coordination of EU Policy in Spain

During the first twenty-five years of Spain’s membership in the European Union (1986–2010), the national system for formulating and coordinating EU policy was relatively simple and successful. It was rather MFA-centred, with the prime minister playing the leading role in high-politics issues, and it was selective in its priorities, among which getting the most EU budget funding and implementing the reforms that accompanied the 1992 Programme and EMU stood out. Then, the eurozone crisis and serious domestic difficulties (at territorial level and within the party system) reduced Spain’s capacity to influence Brussels. However, over the last ten years the country has once again grown above the average of Western Europe and has strengthened its position in the institutions in several policy areas: NextGenerationEU, energy and climate, or external action. It is now the fourth most important state in a 27-member EU and is about to become a net contributor. Its agenda is now comprehensive, its style more proactive, and the coordination system has become more complex, adapting to changes both at the European level (Lisbon Treaty, post-2010 economic governance, Brexit) and at the domestic level (with line ministries, regions and private groups more Europeanised and empowered). Nonetheless, other traditional features remain, such as the weakness of the national parliament and the enormous power of the prime minister on the most important issues. This paper adopts a historical-institutionalist approach to explain these developments.