The article provides a historical background to cultural cooperation with Europe in contemporary Spain from a rather critical perspective. A number of factors, including education, the political context in the second half of the 20th century, the lack of adequate facilities, scarce support and ambition and the role of the central government are analysed briefly, leading to a complex, if short, analysis of structural factors which have prevented the further development of cultural cooperation with Europe. Some notable exceptions are also mentioned. Although the article was originally published in 1997, the analysis remains largely valid. In spite of the "(1)" in the title, no second part was published. The article is particularly relevant to understand the historic weaknesses of Spanish cultural cooperation with Europe: It concludes with suggestions for measures and strategies aimed at cultural organisations and public policy makers. (This article appeared in Karis, Issue 2)