The Europe Pavilion at the Book Fair celebrates Spain’s 40 years in the EU

Today the Madrid Book Fair opens its doors and with it, the Europe Pavilion, located in block 27 C of the Paseo de Coches in the Retiro Park. The European Commission Representation in Spain is participating in this initiative for the fourth year.

Activities today, 30 May.

• 18:00: inauguration of the Pavilion with the round table The 40 years of Spain in the EU as seen by academics, in which Francisco Fonseca, Josep Maria Jordán Galduf and Susana del Río will share their expert views on European integration from the classroom, the institutions and critical thinking.
• 19:30: the former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will talk with the journalist Andrea Rizzi from the newspaper El País at the meeting Europe: Last Chance, where they will reflect on the role of the Old Continent on the current international stage.

Activities dedicated to Spain’s 40 years in the EU

In 2025, the Europe Pavilion celebrates the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Act of Accession of Spain to the European Communities, which took place on 12 June 1985. To commemorate this date, it is offering a special programme in which writers, academics, economists, journalists, playwrights, translators, philosophers and musicians will analyse the 40 years of Spain’s entry into the EU from a variety of perspectives. And with a renewed decoration through an original design with nods to European culture and essential quotes from writers from the 27 EU member countries.

• On Sunday, 1 June at 6 p.m., the economic balance of 40 years of Spain in the EU and what awaits us in the new world order, with the economist Toni Roldán and the Dean-President of the Madrid College of Economists, Amelia Pérez Zabaleta, moderated by the El País journalist Belén Carreño.

• On Wednesday, 11 June at 19:30, leading playwrights will analyse 40 years of Spanish theatre in the European Union: before and after. This activity presents a journey through the evolution of Spanish theatre since its entry into the EU: influences, changes of scene and European projection over four decades. Speakers will include Laila Ripoll, current director of the National Classical Theatre Company, Alberto Conejero, playwright, winner of the National Prize for Dramatic Literature 2019,Yolanda García Serrano, playwright, National Prize for Dramatic Literature 2018 and Laura Mihon, playwright, winner of the City of Barcelona Grant 202, in a colloquium moderated by Raquel Vidales, head of culture and theatre criticism at the newspaper El País.
• On Thursday, 12 June, the day of the anniversary, the Pavilion will host at 19:30 the dialogue The 40 years of Spain in the EU as seen by writers, with Héctor Abad Faciolince and Fernando Savater, who will talk about the freedoms, opportunities and cultural transformations that EU membership has brought about.

Tributes to authors with a European outlook

• On Sunday, 1 June at 12:30, and with the collaboration of the Austrian Cultural Forum, the journalist Guillermo Altares and the writer Sergio del Molino will pay tribute to Joseph Roth at the event La literatura y el sueño europeo bajo la amenaza autoritaria (Literature and the European dream under authoritarian threat), focusing on the legacy of the Austrian novelist and journalist and its relevance in the defence of democratic values.
• On Monday, 2 June at 18:00, David Uclés, finalist for the European Union Prize for Literature with his novel La península de las casas vacías, will talk with Susana Santaolalla (Libros de Arena, RNE) about the influence of Europe on his work.
• On Saturday, 15 June at 18:00, there will be a tribute to The Europe of Mario Vargas Llosa, with the participation of Carlos Franz, Jorge Eduardo Benavides and Ricardo Cayuela, who will analyse the Nobel Prize winner’s relationship with Europe and its reflection in his literary work.

Europe through its narrative genres

The Europe Pavilion programme will also explore how different narrative genres have contributed to building a common cultural identity on the continent.

• On Monday, 2 June, Paloma Sánchez-Garnica (winner of the Planeta 2025 Prize) and Alfonso Goizueta (finalist for the Planeta 2024 Prize), two leading figures in current Spanish historical novels, will talk about their creative process, the sources that nourish their work and the weight of European tradition and identity in their stories.
• On Tuesday, 3 June at 17:30 and in collaboration with the Getafe Negro Festival and Grupo Planeta, Así nos cuenta Europa la novela negra will take place, a meeting between Lorenzo Silva and Agustín Martínez, moderated by Maica Rivera, who will analyse how this literary genre reflects the tensions, realities and landscapes of contemporary Europe.
• On Tuesday, 3 June at 19:30, the ninth art will be the focus of the talk Comic strips as a European identity with Paco Roca and Teresa Valero, in conversation with Laura Barrachina, who will address the European dimension of this form of graphic storytelling that has crossed borders.

More information: European Commission