The Role of the EEC in the Spanish, Portuguese and Greek Transitions

One of the reasons for the successful democratic transition in Spain was the general wish of the old and new political elites to become part of the “European community of democratic states” (Whitehead 2001b). This national bottom-up process coming from civil society as well as the top-down process expressed by the political elites was supported by the “European community of democratic states,” symbolized by the European Community (EC) and the Council of Europe. Before I begin discussion of the process of accession to the EC it is important to clarify three aspects.