Basque Country Autonomous Community

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Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco  ( Spanish )
Euskadi / País Vasco 
Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa  ( Basque )
Basque Country
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coat of arms
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Basic data
Country : SpainSpain Spain
Capital : Vitoria-Gasteiz
Area : 7,234  km²
Residents : 2,207,776  (January 1, 2019)
Population density : 305.2 inhabitants / km²
Expansion: North – South: approx. 110 km
West – East: approx. 140 km
Time zone : UTC +1
ISO 3166-2 : ES-PV
Website : www.euskadi.eus
Anthem : Eusko Abendaren Ereserkia
Politics and administration
Official language : Spanish  and Basque
Autonomy since: December 22, 1979
President : Iñigo Urkullu Rentería ( PNV )
Representation in the
Cortes Generales : 		Congress : 19 seats
Senate : 15 seats
Structure : 3 provinces
251 municipalities
Location of the Basque Country

The Basque Country ( Basque Euskal Herria or Euskadi , Spanish País Vasco ; full name Basque Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa , Spanish Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco ) is since 1979 a Community in Spain , consisting of the three provinces of Gipuzkoa (Spanish Guipúzcoa ), Bizkaia (Basque Bizkaia , Spanish Vizcaya ) and Álava (Basque Araba ).

The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is not identical to the Basque Country in the cultural sense , which also includes the French Basque Country and the Spanish Foral Community Navarre, which is mainly Basque in its north-west .

With a score of 0.915, the Basque Country ranks second among the 17 Spanish Autonomous Communities in the Human Development Index .

history

politics

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The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country in its current borders has existed since 1979. As one of the three parts of the country that had already enjoyed autonomy under the Spanish Republic , it was one of the first regions to regain autonomy status, which was approved by a referendum. However, the Statute of Autonomy in its current form is only supported by part of the political forces in the Basque Country. Both the degree of autonomy and membership of the Spanish state as well as the territorial boundaries of the autonomous region are controversial. The province of Navarre , which according to the Spanish constitution could have formed an autonomous community together with the provinces of Bizkaia , Gipuzkoa and Araba , was not involved in the referendum on the Statute of Autonomy, but at the instigation of the leading political forces there without a referendum to form an independent autonomous community raised.

The autonomy of the Basque Country is based not only on the provisions of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 on the possible creation of Autonomous Communities , but also on the historical rights of the territories with fueros, expressly recognized by the Spanish Constitution. This provision is the basis of the complete financial autonomy of the provinces of Bizkaia , Gipuzkoa , Araba and Navarras or of the present-day Autonomous Community formed from the first three provinces, which, with the exception of the Franco dictatorship, was never suspended. As a result, these provinces or autonomous communities collect the taxes on their own territory and only pay a sum to the Spanish central government, which is determined by a bilateral agreement.

Despite the Statute of Autonomy, there is an active independence movement in the Basque Country Autonomous Community. Several Basque parties (for example the now banned Herri Batasuna ) and the underground terrorist organization ETA advocate the independence of a unified Basque Country, including Navarre and the Basque historical territories in France .

Since 1979, the Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea-Partido Nacionalista Vasco ( Basque Nationalist Party ) has been the strongest party that seeks to expand autonomy rights. In the parliament of the Spanish Basque Country, the Basque national parties held a majority until the left-wing national parties were banned, but they do not always agree with one another, so they always form coalitions with all-Spanish parties.

The Basque Country has hit the headlines in the Western European media mainly in connection with the ETA attacks. In the Basque media, activities by Basque nationalist or ETA-affiliated groups are often referred to as “the fight against Spanish oppression”.

Over the past 15 years, various parties and organizations in the Basque provinces have repeatedly presented approaches to solving the conflict. Many discussions were fruitless. The Spanish government insists - from the point of view of critics - on maximum positions, such as B. the controversial detention conditions for ETA members. These conditions of detention and the five-day ban on contact under the Anti-Terrorism Act on the one hand, and the violent actions of ETA on the other hand, are regularly assessed negatively in the annual reports of Amnesty International .

Division of the Basque Country
(in a broader sense):
  • Basque Country Autonomous Region
  • Autonomous Region of Navarre
  • French Basque Country

    • Surveys among the population of the Basque Country show that the vast majority of the population wants a peaceful settlement of the conflict, but is not satisfied with the status of autonomy achieved. 37 competencies agreed under the Statute of Autonomy have not yet been transferred to the Basque government.

    The political discussion in 2003 in the Spanish Basque Country was shaped by the efforts of the government under Juan José Ibarretxe to replace the currently valid Statute of Autonomy of December 22, 1979 with a new statute. The government formed by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Basque Solidarity (EA) and United Left (EB-IU) presented a proposal for a new statute of autonomy for the Basque Country on October 25, 2003, the so-called Plan Ibarretxe .

    This plan provides for extensive self-determination rights for the Basque Country (including its own members in the European Parliament, its own representatives in international organizations) and free association with Spain. According to the government, the plan represents a constructive solution to the political and armed conflict. Critics of the so-called Ibarretexe plan , including the People's Party (PP) and the Socialists (PSOE), accuse the government of the Spanish Basque Country with the proposal Wanting to achieve independence. The plan violates the Spanish constitution and divides the country. In December 2004 the Basque Parliament referred the proposal for the new Statute of Autonomy to the Spanish Chamber of Deputies with 39 votes to 35. There, however, as expected, this was rejected by 313 to 29 votes in January 2005, without even being referred to the responsible commission for negotiation.

    In regional elections on April 17, 2005 in the Basque Country, the ruling PNV of Prime Minister ( lehendakari ) Ibarretxe lost four seats, but remained the strongest party. The result was interpreted as a rejection of the Ibarretxe independence plan, although the nationalist bloc emerged stronger in the elections. Because of the criticism of the Ibarretxe plan, the PSE-EE, the Basque regional party of the PSOE, was not ready to form a coalition with the PNV. Ibarretxe led a minority government with Basque Solidarity (EA) and United Left (EB-IU) that was tolerated by PCTV-EHAK .

    On June 27, 2008, the Basque Parliament decided to hold a referendum on October 25, 2008 on the future of the region with the aim of initiating a political negotiation process that could possibly lead to a final referendum in 2010 on the Basques' right to self-determination. In response to the central government's judicial review action, on September 11, 2008, the Constitutional Court declared the Basque referendum law unconstitutional and null and void.

    In the regional elections of March 1, 2009, to which candidacies from the radical nationalist left ( izquierda abertzale ) were not allowed, the PNV was again the strongest force with 30 seats. However, Patxi López (PSE-EE, 25 seats) was elected Prime Minister , whose government was tolerated by the PP (13 seats). The Basque nationalists thus lost government responsibility for the first time since 1979.

    In spring 2012, the government of Patxi López lost the support of the PP, so that early elections were finally scheduled for October 21, 2012. From these elections, the PNV emerged again as the strongest force with 27 seats. The left-wing nationalist joint candidacy EH BILDU ( Aralar , EA , Alternatiba ), which was also supported by Sortu (the izquierda abertzale party that was being established and was newly admitted following a ruling by the constitutional court ), became the second strongest party with 21 seats. The PSE-EE dropped from 25 to 16 seats and the PP from 13 to 10 seats. The Basque nationalist parties (PNV and EH BILDU) won 60% of the votes and 48 out of 75 seats in the regional parliament in this election.

    Provinces

    The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country consists of three provinces (also known as Territorios Históricos / Historical Territories ), each of which has extensive self-government rights. The provinces are in turn divided into municipalities.

    province Area
    km 2     		of inhabitants
    number     		Population density
    inh. Per km 2     		Number of
    parishes     		Capital
    Araba (Spanish Álava ) 3,037.3 286,387 94.3 51 Vitoria-Gasteiz
    Bizkaia (Spanish Vizcaya ) 2,217.2 1,122,637 506.3 112 Bilbao (Basque Bilbo )
    Gipuzkoa (Spanish Guipúzcoa ) 1,980.3 673,563 340.1 88 Donostia / San Sebastián
    total 7,234.8 2,082,587 287.9 251

    Cities

    The largest cities in the Basque Country are (2011 population):

    economy

    The Basque Country is one of the wealthiest regions in Spain. Compared with the GDP of the EU expressed in purchasing power standards, the region achieved an index of 119 (EU-28: 100) (2015).

    The unemployment rate on April 30, 2010 was 10.91%. Nonetheless, GDP per capita for the same year in the Basque Country, at 30,703 euros per inhabitant, was the highest among the autonomous communities. In 2017, the unemployment rate was 11.3%, below the national average.

    The Basque Country suffered far less than other regions from the Spanish economic crisis, which began in 2008 when a property bubble burst. It turned out that the structural change that began in the 1980s from heavy industry to the service sector, especially banks and IT companies, could be successfully completed. In 2015, the Basque Country was among the leaders in Spain in terms of economic growth and GDP per capita, while unemployment and public debt were well below the Spanish average.

    Web links

    Commons : Basque Country  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

    Personalities

    swell

    1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
    2. ^ Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. Retrieved August 12, 2018 .
    3. ↑ SENTENCIA 103/2008, de 11 de septiembre. In: Boletín Oficial del Estado No. 245 October 10, 2008, accessed on November 12, 2019 (Spanish, English translation here ).
    4. ↑ Source: eustat.es
    5. ↑ Status: 2001, source: eustat.es
    6. ↑ Status: 2002
    7. ↑ Eurostat. Retrieved April 15, 2018 .
    8. ↑ Unemployment rate, by NUTS 2 regions. Retrieved November 5, 2018 .
    9. ↑ Thomas Urban The Better Spain , sz.de , November 28, 2016.

    Coordinates: 43 ° 2 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W