The Obs researcher Laia Mestres has recently published a chapter in Tim Oliver’s edited book ‘Europe’s Brexit. EU Perspectives on Britain’s Vote to Leave’. In the chapter, titled ‘Iberia: Portugal and Spain’ and co-authorized with António Raimundo, Mestres analyzes the Brexit from the Spanish perspective, whereas Raimundo does it from the Portuguese viewpoint.
Abstact: Sharing a firm commitment to European integration and possessing important socio-economic links with the UK, both Spain and Portugal defended an amicable solution for the Brexit that helped preserve the EU project and prevented them from a loss in their bilateral ties with the UK. Apart from this important convergence, there were also some subtler differences that mirrored in part the variation in the two countries’ approach to European integration and the nature of their relations with Britain. While Spain’s reaction was more affirmative and clearly a Europeanist one, Portugal’s response was more cautious and balanced.