Basque Country (autonomous community)
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| Image:Locator map of Basque Country.png | |||
| Capital | Vitoria-Gasteiz | ||
| Official languages | Basque and Spanish | ||
| Area – Total – % of Spain | Ranked 14th 7 234 km² 1,4% | ||
| Population – Total (2005) – % of Spain – Density | Ranked 7th 2 124 846 4,9% 293,73/km² | ||
| Demonym – English – Spanish – Basque | Basque vasco/a euskal herritar, euskaldun | ||
| GDP | GDP/Cápita 30.680 US$ | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | PV | ||
| Parliamentary representation – Congress seats – Senate seats | 19 3 | ||
| President (Lehendakari) | Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu (PNV) | ||
| Eusko Jaurlaritza/Gobierno Vasco | |||
Basque Country (Basque Euskadi, Spanish País Vasco) is an autonomous community with the status of historical region within Spain, the capital of which is Vitoria (Basque Gasteiz). It is part of the larger Basque native lands, which are also called the Basque Country (Basque "Euskal Herria").
The following provinces make up Basque Country:
| Álava | (Basque Araba) | capital Vitoria | (Basque Gasteiz) |
| Vizcaya | (Basque Bizkaia) | capital Bilbao | (Basque Bilbo) |
| Guipúzcoa | (Basque Gipuzkoa) | capital San Sebastián | (Basque Donostia) |
Before the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its system of autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as the Provincias Vascongadas, an antiquated term still used by many. The autonomous communities political structure is defined in the Gernika Statute, which was approved in a controversial, and substantially boycotted, referendum on October 25, 1979. In 2003, the governing Basque Nationalist Party proposed to alter this statute through the Ibarretxe Plan. The project, though approved majoritarily in the Basque chamber was rejected without debate in the Spanish Cortes.
Contents |
Government
The current Statute configures the autonomous community as a federation of the three constituent provinces, which had been ruled since their incorporation to Castile in 1200 by their own laws and institutions in what is known as the [Fuero|Foral System]. This autonomy, simmilar to the one that enjoyed neighbour Navarre, was severely cut in the 19th century and largely suspended under the Fascist regime but was restored in its severed form by the Spanish Constitution of 1978.
Under this system the Diputaciones Forales (Basque: Foru Aldundiak) administer most of each of the provinces but coordinated and centralized by the autonomous Basque Government (Basque: Eusko Jaurlaritza, Spanish Gobierno Vasco).
The seat of the Basque Parliament and Government are in Vitoria-Gasteiz. But the Statute provides for their transference to Pamplona if Navarre ever decides to join the Basque Autonomous Community. The Parliament is formed by 25 representatives of each one of the three provinces, without considering their respective demographic weight. The Basque Parlament elects the Lehendakari (President) who forms government following regular parliamentary procedures. So far all Lehendakaris (even those in 1937 and in the exile) have been members of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV), moderate and Christian-Democrat, but they haven't got always confortable majorities and have needed to form coalitions often with either pro-Spanish or pro-Basque more let-leaning parties, often governing in a difficult minority position.
The current government, lead by José Antonio Ibarretxe (EAJ-PNV) is supported also by left-leaning nationalists of Eusko Alkartasuna (EA) and communist-dominated Ezker Batua (EB-IU). Both Spanish centralist parties (PSOE and PP) are again in the opposition as are the radical nationalists of the Basque National Liberation Movement that had to run this time under the umbrella of a new formation: Euskal Herrietako Alderdi Komunista (EHAK).The new Ibarretxe government is therefore again governing in parliamentary minority.
The autonomous community has its own police force (the Ertzaintza), education and health systems, and a Basque radio/TV station. These and other attributions under the Gernika Statute have been slowly and painfully only transfered by Madrid, yet many others remain without been transfered after more than two decades of autonomy.
Languages
Basque and Spanish are co-official in all the territory of the Community, though in many instances, specially those that depend from the central Spanish Government, like tribunals, it is difficult to carry on bureaucracy or judicial processes in other language than Spanish.
Territorial claims
The Statute provides for mechanisms for neighbour Navarre, which also has a Basque ethnic background and is claimed as the core of the nation by Basque Nationalists, can join the three western provinces if it wishes to do so. In such case, the seat of the common administration would be moved to Pamplona.
The Basque Government used for many years the "Laurak Bat", which included the arms of Navarre, as its symbol. Yet tribunals ruled in favor of Navarre and the Basque Government replaced it with an empty red field.
But Navarre is just one of the territories that the Basque Country claims in democratic terms, two enclaves Treviño (Basque: Trebinu) and Villaverde de Trucíos (Basque: Trutzioz Billaberde), which are completely surrounded by Basque territory but belong to the neighbour communities of Castile-Leon and Cantabria respectively, are also claimed. In these cases with clear support by the affected populations.
Economy
The Basque Country is one of the wealthiest communities of Spain, with GDP per capita being 20.6% higher than that of the European Union average in 2004 [1]
| Template:Spain/Basque Country (autonomous community) | Administrative Structure of Spain | Image:Flag of Spain.svg |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Communities: Andalusia | Aragon | Asturias | Balearic Islands | Basque Country | Canary Islands | Cantabria | Castile–La Mancha | Castile–Leon | Catalonia | Extremadura | Galicia | Madrid | Murcia | Navarre | La Rioja | Valencia | ||
| Autonomous Cities: Ceuta | Melilla | ||
| Plazas de soberanía menores: Islas Chafarinas | Peñón de Alhucemas | Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera | ||
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