This House notes the results of the 2024 Basque regional election held on 21 April; congratulates EH Bildu for receiving the best election results in its history having won over 340,000 votes and 27 seats, an increase of six since the last election; commends EH Bildu for the positive and peaceful vision it offered voters during the election with a focus on health, housing, employment and the concerns of young people; and calls on the United Kingdom to strengthen ties with the Basque Country in the spirit of promoting peace and democratic values.

This House notes the results of the 2024 Basque regional election held on 21 April; congratulates EH Bildu for receiving the best election results in its history having won over 340,000 votes and 27 seats, an increase of six since the last election; commends EH Bildu for the positive and...

That this House welcomes news of the end of the policy of prisoner dispersal applied to Basque politically motivated prisoners for over 30 years and that the remaining 156 prisoners are now held in jails in the Basque country; agrees that this is a positive step towards a lasting and just peace in the Basque country, Spain, France and Western Europe as a whole; finds this news particularly topical in the context of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement and the successful peace-building measures it enabled, such as the prisoner release scheme; notes that peace efforts in the Basque country and elsewhere have taken inspiration from the latter; commends the efforts of the many people, organisations and institutions who have worked over the years to achieve peace in the Basque country; calls for outstanding issues to be addressed in a positive and comprehensive manner, including the ongoing application of standard penitentiary law to remaining prisoners; commits to follow events in the Basque country and to work so that peace takes firm root and the events of the past never happen again; and urges the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to encourage such efforts.

That this House welcomes news of the end of the policy of prisoner dispersal applied to Basque politically motivated prisoners for over 30 years and that the remaining 156 prisoners are now held in jails in the Basque country; agrees that this is a positive step towards a lasting and...

That this House expresses its surprise at the action taken by the Spanish Government to close the only daily Basque newspaper, Egunkaria, including its on-line English edition; notes that this newspaper has reported across the Basque political spectrum and that its closure has been condemned by the European Bureau of Lesser Used Languages; recalls the oppression of the Basque language and people under Franco's fascism; rejects the use of violence in pursuit of political ends in the Basque country and beyond, but asserts the right of free expression; and calls on the Government to express its disapproval of this action to the Spanish authorities.

That this House expresses its surprise at the action taken by the Spanish Government to close the only daily Basque newspaper, Egunkaria, including its on-line English edition; notes that this newspaper has reported across the Basque political spectrum and that its closure has been condemned by the European Bureau of...

That this House expresses its concern at the summary arrest by the French authorities of over 100 Breton citizens for providing hospitality to Basque refugees; notes the well-established tradition in Brittany of welcoming Basque refugees fleeing from torture and persecution in Spain during and after the Fascist regime of Franco and that this was until 1986 supported by the French Government and local authorities; regards as significant the fact that none of those arrested has been charged or brought to trial; registers concern at reports of intimidating behaviour by the police and the degrading conditions in which it is alleged the detainees were held; notes the widespread popular condemnation of the action of the French authorities in this matter and the suspicion that what is afoot is a process of intimidating the Breton regionalist cultural movement; and calls upon the French authorities to desist from this strategy and to exonerate the arrestees unless they are able to provide firm evidence that their actions are necessary in the interests of public security and the prevention of terrorism.

That this House expresses its concern at the summary arrest by the French authorities of over 100 Breton citizens for providing hospitality to Basque refugees; notes the well-established tradition in Brittany of welcoming Basque refugees fleeing from torture and persecution in Spain during and after the Fascist regime of Franco...