Spain's Basque Country proclaims right to self-determination

Lawmakers in Spain's Basque Country on Thursday adopted a declaration of self-determination, stepping up a push for more powers and potentially creating a new political headache for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The northern region - which already has significant self-governing powers and can raise its own taxes - is following in the footsteps of the regional parliament in Catalonia, which made a sovereignty claim last year. The declaration adopted on Thursday was backed by 48 votes from the Basque National Party and the pro-independence party Bildu while the 27 lawmakers from the ruling center-right People's Party, the opposition Socialists and centrist party UPyD voted against. The sovereignty claim comes as a tense political climate, fueled by decades of violence in which hundreds of people have been killed, has eased since the Basque separatist movement ETA declared an end to its armed struggle in 2011. Read More http://ift.tt/1mL82b9