The European Union and the Accomodation of Basque Difference in Spain

Devolution has been an important tool in Spanish politics for managing nationalist disputes--and for the Basque Country where protracted and sometimes violent nationalist conflicts persist. Addressing these issues, this book explores prospects for an autonomous Basque role in EU politics; institutional arrangements for autonomous community participation in EU decision-making; Basque government alliances with other regions and the EU's supranational bodies; EU incentives for collaboration among Basque and central state authorities; the impact of EU decisions on politically sensitive Basque competencies; and the incidence of EU issues in nationalist disputes. It presents a new theoretical framework for analyzing the impact of the EU on regional power and will be of interest to students, researchers and general observers of Basque, Spanish and EU politics.