This research article addresses the diplomatic efforts made by Jose Maria de Areilza between 1960 and 1964, the period in which he served as Spain's ambassador to France, in order to advance the pressing association of his country to the European Communities. Drawing on unpublished diplomatic documents and on Areilza's retrospective testimony, the article outlines how the Spanish ambassador, who enjoyed a broad mandate and a pre-eminent position among the diplomats stationed in the French capital, sought from the very beginning to facilitate Spain's incorporation to the European integration process. However, the slow progress of the negotiations and the unfeasibility of full accession to the Common Market, due to the immobilism of the Spanish authorities, led Areilza in the summer of 1964 to present his irrevocable resignation as ambassador, thus ending his long collaboration with the Franco regime.
