00:00Despite the fact that joining the European Union brought significant advantages to Spain
00:04and stimulated economic development, it also had its negative consequences.
00:09In particular, Spain's accession to the Eurozone in 1999
00:13became the trigger for the biggest crisis in the country's post-war history.
00:19Thanks to the free movement of capital, market conditions in Spain
00:23came into line with those in the most developed European countries.
00:26In just one year, the average interest rate on long-term loans dropped more than five-fold,
00:33from 11.7 to 2.2 percent per year.
00:38This convinced many Spaniards that the time had finally come to fulfill their dream of buying their own home.
00:45The government, seeing an opportunity to solve the housing problem
00:48and attract citizens' funds for investment in the economy,
00:51actively promoted the spread of mortgage lending and the development of the construction sector.
