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Spain Marks 40 Years in the EU With Data Showing Broad Gains at Home

EU funding alongside mobility schemes underpins the gains cited.

Overview

  • New 2024 figures chart GDP growth from €243,382 million in 1986 to €1,594,330 million, with total employment rising from 10.8 million to 21.1 million and goods exports from €12,600 million to €141,500 million.
  • EU cohesion support surpasses €150 billion, extending broadband to over 7 million households and channeling €6.7 billion into high‑speed rail since 2007, while CAP payments aid more than 500,000 farmers each year.
  • Spain’s integration in education and research includes over 1.6 million Erasmus participants, roughly 40,000 inbound students annually, and more than €17 billion from Horizon Europe benefiting upwards of 30,000 researchers.
  • Recent cooperation on crises features about €3 billion in EU aid for Valencia after the 2024 Dana floods and summer prepositioning of firefighting teams from Estonia and the Netherlands.
  • Public backing remains strong with 74% saying Spain’s future is better inside the EU, alongside institutional heft that includes three Spanish presidents of the European Parliament and five EU agencies based in Spain.