BASQUE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY, SPAIN | See Spain.

BASQUE SEPARATISM

‘The Basque country [officially the Basque Autonomous Community or Paìs Vasco or Euskadi] offers a variation on the Catalan [separatist] theme. ETA’s terrorism stripped Basque calls for independence of all democratic legitimacy. After a request for a referendum on Basque self-determination was rejected in the Spanish parliament in 2005, the hard-headed Basque National Party (PNV) has devoted itself to achieving the best possible economic deal. It starts from a strong position because the Basque country has fiscal autonomy. The PNV’s current leadership is realistic. “The Basque national cause is not incompatible with Spain,” says Andoni Ortuzar, the party’s president. “A nation doesn’t have to have a state, not in Europe today.” Nevertheless, some in Spain are suspicious of the PNV’s long-term intentions,’ (‘In two minds,’ article in The Economist Special Report on Spain, July 28th 2018, p8).