Spain is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a full member of the European Union, so it is fitting that 2006 should be the year in which the once-isolated peninsula comes of age as a true modern European country.

Following decades when Latin America was the country’s natural market for foreign expansion, Spanish companies are now establishing a strong presence in Europe thanks to intense investment in telecommunications, infrastructure, property, finance and energy. Eastern Europe, the US and Asia now represent the future, according to many of the country’s business leaders