The Minority Nations of Spain and European Integration: A New Framework for Autonomy?

The transformation of the state in western Europe provides new opportunities for expression for minority nations. Spain has a long history as a multinational state and, in the twentieth century, this has been one of the principal sources of political conflict. Catalan and Basque nationalists and Galician regionalists see in Europe a new arena for the expression of their national ambitions, while maintaining a degree of ambiguity about their ultimate goals and the question of sovereignty. Their strategies in Europe are rather different, reflecting the different history and character of the three territories