PRIO invites you to a seminar on the new Basque peace process and recent developments in the Basque country. This marks the launch of a new PRIO project, 'Imagined Sovereignties: Frontiers of Statehood and Globalization', funded by the Research Council of Norway.
Speakers:
- Pedro Ibarra Güell, University of the Basque Country
- Gorka Elejabarrieta, Sortu
- Paul Rios, Lokarri
- Moderator: Åshild Kolås, PRIO
Debates on Basque sovereignty and self-determination have long been influenced by the militant actions of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). The cessation of ETA’s armed activities has reinvigorated Basque debates about the ‘right to decide’, and stakeholders have now realized the need to rethink Basque sovereignty by taking into consideration the changing status and nature of nationhood and citizenship within the European Union.
In this seminar the speakers will explain the emergence of the new Basque peace process and current debates among Basque nationalists on the concept of sovereignty and its implementation. We also invite a discussion on the obstacles to a resolution of the Basque conflict, and whether EU agencies might be able to contribute to the peace process, for example through a regional program that will enable more transboundary cooperation between Basque areas in Spain and France.
