Chapter Two: European Integration, Minorities And
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LUISSearch LUISS – GUIDO CARLI DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE PHD PROGRAMME IN POLITICAL THEORY – XXI CYCLE PHD THESIS “EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND STATELESS MINORITIES. THE TRAJECTORY OF BASQUE NATIONALISM.” ILARIA PICCIOLI ROME - JULY 21ST, 2010 A mes amours ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those whom I have had the privilege to meet during this adventure and whose precious support I will never forget. Among many others, I wish to express my warm thanks to: Amb. Roberto Toscano, who has been restlessly supporting me long before this project was conceived, Prof. Sebastiano Maffettone, who gave me the opportunity to work at the Center and to contribute to its the stimulating intellectual debate, Prof. Xavier Exteberria, for providing me with illuminating insights on Basque nationalism, Prof. Will Kymlicka, for turning my work upside down and giving a new sense to my efforts, Prof. Eva Pfösl, for her countless guidance at the first stage of my work, Prof. John McGarry, for taking the time to engage into extensive discussions and interesting exchange of views on the Northern Ireland and Basque conflicts, Prof. Daniele Conversi, for spending long hours discussing about Basque culture at smoky bars in downtown Bilbao. I owe my most sincere gratitude to Dr. Raffaele Marchetti, for his constant support and encouragement especially in difficult times, and to Dr. Daniele Santoro, for always swiftly helping me out whenever needed. My work has also benefitted from the valuable exchange with José Maria Muñoa, Representative of the Basque Government in Brussels between 1999 and 2007,) Iñaki Anasagasti, Member of Spanish Senate (PNV), Izaskun Bilbao, Member of the European Parliament (PNV), Carlos Iturgaiz, Member of the European Parliament (PP), Eider Gardiazabal, Member of the European Parliament (PSOE), Rafael Hueso, Interregional and Cross- Border Cooperation at the Office for External Action of the Basque Country, among others. A special mention goes to my beloved ones. I owe each and every one of them my loving thanks for putting up with me when I was most unbearable. This work could have never been possible without the support of the Marie Curie Consortium HUMCRICON, which provided me with all the necessary material and immaterial means during my long research stay at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, to the International Council for Canadian Studies for giving me the unique opportunity to spend a 3 month research period at the Queen’s University in Kingston and finally, to the International Federation of University Women, for firmly and generously believing in my project. Last but not least, I am grateful to my cat Giacomo and my dog Poldo. Drafting this thesis would have been even harder without their disinterested and dozy company at late hours. “Here a secrete and profound tie, which nothing could ever break, binds together in spite of Treaties, the diplomatic frontiers, in spite of the Pyrenees, the natural frontiers, all the members of the mysterious Basque family. (...) But neither France nor Spain have succeeded in disaggregating the Basque group. Beneath the fresh layers of history that have been piling upon it during four centuries, it is still perfectly visible, like a crater beneath a lake ...”. V. Hugo, The Pyrenees, 1843 INDEX FOREWORD......................................................................................................................................1 PART 1: SUBSTATE MOBILIZATION, SUB-STATE NATIONALISM AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Introductory Remarks ..................................................................................................................7 The Decline of the Nation-State between Globalization and European Integration................9 State Transformation in Multi-Level Europe: Sub-State Authorities on the Go ...................15 Sub-State Participation and Representation in Europe: The Rise of Paradiplomacy...........23 The Committee of the Regions...................................................................................................24 The Council of Ministers.............................................................................................................27 European Networks and Associations......................................................................................27 Regional Brussels Offices..........................................................................................................29 Lobbying with European Commission and European Parliament..........................................30 EU Regional Policy and European Territorial Cooperation.....................................................31 We, the Nations. Against Nation-States Resilience: Sub-State Nationalism on the Rise....36 What risks for Europe.................................................................................................................42 European Stability in Danger?...................................................................................................43 European Values at Stake?........................................................................................................48 European Integration in Stall?...................................................................................................53 European Democracy in Distress?............................................................................................57 The European Rescue of Sub-state Nationalism .....................................................................60 PART 2: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, MINORITIES AND DEMOCRACY Introductory Remarks ................................................................................................................65 The Democratic Deficit in the EU and a Focus on Representation and Participation..........67 Causes and Foundations of the Democratic Deficit ...............................................................69 Representation and Participation of European Citizens in the EU.........................................75 Accommodation of Minorities in the EU : The Rise of the Issues of EU Minorities..............81 Minorities in the EU: a Challenge or an Incentive for Democratization? ..............................91 Risks and Benefits of European Democracy ...........................................................................95 Uncompleted Democracies .......................................................................................................99 European Democracy and the Challenges Ahead .................................................................101 PART 3. - BASQUE NATIONALISM AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Introductory Remarks ..............................................................................................................104 An Historical Sketch: Birth and Origins of Basque Nationalism ........................................108 The ideological evolution of Basque Nationalism .................................................................116 After Sabino Arana’s Death .....................................................................................................116 Under the Dictatorship .............................................................................................................119 An Ideological Rupture? The Birth of E.T.A. ..........................................................................122 During the Transition and Democracy ...................................................................................127 The Idea of Europe in Basque Nationalism ............................................................................130 Early Nationalism .....................................................................................................................131 Under the dictatorship..............................................................................................................132 The European Politics of Contemporary Basque Nationalism ............................................139 The Strange Case of the Ibarretxe Plan...................................................................................146 The Europeanization of Basque Nationalism ........................................................................148 CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................................................................153 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES ........................................................................................................158 FOREWORD Since the middle of the XIX century, the nation became the instrument of major community- based planning and personal association. In cases where the ancient populations had failed in their attempts to form “the nation,” there were significant problems for both the state and the population as the struggle for its establishment posed dangers for the legitimacy of the government, due to support of the majority of community members. This was due to the popular attitude that modernity demanded participation in, and membership to, a particular “nation” or “nation-state.” The vehicle for the formation of “the nation” was nationalism. Nationalism served to “define, produce, and direct human actions in an increasingly inter-dependent world” (Williams 1-2). The promotion of freedom in the 20th century created circumstances that increased the level of self-consciousness among various countries’ populations