Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
population. Even more urgent is the
threat to national unity posed by ETA
bombings and a new spirit of defiance
among Basque regional leaders that es-
chews violence but presents autonomist
demands that threaten the fabric of the
constitution.
Perhaps distracted by their own constitu-
tional problems, Spaniards give only a
lukewarm support to the European
Union constitution. In a referendum de-
signed to place Spain in a leadership role
on the march to European unity, a mere
40 percent of eligible voters go to the
polls, although the majority affirm the
pan-European charter.
José Socrates is appointed prime minister of
Portugal, his Socialist Party having gained
control of parliament in the February
election. He replaces Pedro Santana Lopes
of the Social Democrats whose four-
month tenure had been generally re-
jected by politicians and businesspeople
for its incompetence and had lost the
confidence of the nation's president Jorge
Sampaio. Although Socrates promises to
restore economic and social stability that
have badly deteriorated since 2000, his
announced policies do not differ mark-
edly from those of his predecessor.
within Spain. Furthermore, the question
of Basque “homeland” areas lying within
France seems insoluble. The Basque ini-
tiative also stimulates new demands from
Catalonia and other regions, as well as
arousing conservative nationalists' fears
over the unity of the Spanish state.
A continuing investigation of plotting by Is-
lamic militants within Spain is accompa-
nied by the steady growth of a Muslim
presence in the country. As many as
100,000 “refugees” enter Spain during
2006. Some of these cross the Strait of
Gibraltar on rafts or try to force their way
through barriers at Ceuta and Melilla,
Spain's North African enclaves. A new
tactic is the launching of decrepit over-
loaded boats from Senegal and adjacent
African territories in the hope of reaching
the Canary Islands. Spain seeks the help
of European and African Muslim coun-
tries in stopping this tide of newcomers.
In December, Spain and Morocco make a
curiously incongruous announcement
that they are actively exploring the con-
struction of a tunnel beneath the Strait of
Gibraltar. Such a route connecting Africa
to Europe had been discussed periodically
for more than 30 years, with enthusiastic
projections of technological and natural
resource flow being the main advantage.
Now a series of engineering calculations
suggest that several parallel railroad tun-
nels could be blasted through the Medi-
terranean seabed within a practical time
frame and a cost-effective system of fi-
nancing. The question immediately arises
as to whether Spain (and, indeed, the rest
of Europe) wishes to confront the social
and political implications of linking the
two continents.
2006
The sudden promise of a cease-fire and seri-
ous negotiations from ETA is at first re-
ceived with skepticism in Madrid, given
the failure of earlier peace plans. Prime
Minister Rodriguez Zapatero, neverthe-
less, pursues contacts with Basque politi-
cians throughout 2006. A major stumbling
block is the concept of “Basque nation” as
distinguished from an autonomous region
Search WWH ::
Custom Search