Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos n.º 13 - Año: 2019 - Págs.: 243 a 274 257 Bernardo González-Lázaro Sueiras Defense cooperation between Portugal… bution of the balance of power (Maio, 2013, 15), instead of helping synergy and joint action. Peninsular bilateral relations have evolved greatly in recent years, as a careful reading of the bilateral Treaties and Agreements bears witness to. Nevertheless, a common history which was not always cordial is evident. Thus, it is interesting to note that in 1939, “Friendship and non-aggression”29 was talked about, and in the pre-democratic period in 1977, the terms used were “Friendship and cooperation”30. In any case, the result of bilateral diplomatic relations in the last thirty years is very positive, and after centuries of complex relations, with periods of approximation and of hostility, a convergence between the two countries and their societies has finally been established. The progressive alignment of positions and strategies between Spain and Portugal is due to several factors (Chislett, 2004, 2-5): the natural convergence of interests by virtue of their vicinity; the synchronic development of the processes of transition and democratic consolidation; Spain’s admission into NATO (1982); their simul-taneous assimilation into the European Communities (1986), and the subsequent development via the different European Treaties. All of this has contributed to re-vitalizing and multiplying the forms of bilateral relationship, opening new areas of cooperation. Considering the geographic factor of indivisible vicinity, peninsular economic inte-gration was swift, and solid relations of interdependence were established (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation MAEC, 2016, 5). The two countries have built up a complex framework of bilateral treaties and agreements that ensure the normal func-tioning of bilateral and cross-border relations. Noteworthy are the aforementioned “Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation” of 1977, which will be revised in the near fu-ture (the Government’s Presidency, 2015, 2; Sánchez, 2015, 3); the “Treaty of Valencia” in 2002 on cross-border cooperation between territorial entities and authorities; and the “Albufeira Agreement” in 2008 on cooperation in matters of Portuguese-Spanish hydrographic basins, which are added to a long historical heritage in which the “Trea-ty of Limits” of 1864 stands out, valid for a century and a half. Political contacts are numerous and intense, the Spanish-Portuguese Summits ini-tiated in 1983 being the main mechanism of consultation at the highest level and the motor of bilateral relations. At the end of the 27th Summit in Vidago (2014), the then Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho declared, referring to bilateral rela-tions on the Peninsula, that “we are now living in times of difficult choices, of limited resources, that invite us to promote each other’s capabilities of defending our shared interests” (Vieira, 2014, 1). The subsequent summits, held in Bayona (28 June 2015) 29 Treaty of Friendship and non-aggression, signed in Lisbon on 17 March 1939, as well as the respective additional Protocols of 29 July 1940, 20 September 1948 and 22 May 1970. 30 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Portugal and Spain, signed on 22 November 1977.
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