Mr President, I am sorry that almost no Members of the elected European Commission are present. This is an explanation of vote directed at Mr Prodi. I hope that somebody will take note and pass the communication on. According to many historians and anthropologists, the Basque people form the oldest nation in Europe which, in spite of its limited population, has maintained its own ancestral language for centuries and millennia, as well as a distinct culture and traditions. But, despite all of this, there are many other manifestations of the Basque uniqueness, not only in social, biological, civic, legal or administrative terms, but also, and above all, economically and fiscally. The gradual historical absorption and integration of the Basque Country into the Spanish State, which has always been the result of military defeats in the past, as well as the mass arrival of immigrants from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula, has resulted in the blurring and dilution of our personality and of native Basque uniqueness. For this reason, the Basque country maintains a political conflict with the Spanish State which has manifested itself in a violent way, a violence which the majority of us reject, but which, nevertheless, has left a trail of deaths, injuries, pain, extortion, fear and many innocent victims. Much has been snatched from us for reasons of state interest. But there is a distinguishing mark, a clear tendency towards self-government and sovereignty which has resisted all the historical upheavals and misfortunes. I am referring to the full autonomy, to the exclusive capacity and competence which the Basque Country enjoys from a fiscal point of view, from the point of view of the collection of taxes, rates and public levies, as well as with regard to budgets and public spending. Fortunately, today in Euskadi, as in Northern Ireland, we live in times of hope. The armed organisation ETA has declared a cease-fire and the majority of Basque political parties, unions and civil organisations have signed an agreement in Lizarra-Estella (Navarre) which aims at dealing with the Basque conflict through dialogue and negotiation. That is to say, by taking an exclusively democratic path. Well, the Commission of the European Union has called into question and cast doubt upon certain fiscal measures which are designed to promote economic activity and reduce our high level of unemployment, measures which were adopted by the Basque institutions by virtue of their sovereignty and autonomy in this area. This is a right which not even the Fascist dictatorship of General Franco dared to interfere with or violate in the historic Basque territories of Navarre or Álava. In these historic days when the Basques are opting for European construction as a democratic path to understanding, conciliation and peaceful co-existence with all Spaniards, as well as all the other peoples of Europe, the thing that we need least, the thing that could affect the peace which we are seeking and which we yearn for is for our remaining fiscal sovereignty, our economic harmony, not to be respected. We would have liked to have voted positively, in the affirmative, for this new European Commission which you have presented to us. But the replies given by those responsible for competition and other issues relating to the European regions have caused disquiet and concern in the Basque Country, and for this reason we have not been able to put our trust in them. But neither have we wanted to say no. We have not rejected your candidature or your proposal, since we prefer to seek opportunities for the future. For all of these reasons, Mr President Prodi, I ask for your support for the peace process in Euskadi, in the Basque Country. To this end, there are some proposals concerning programmes and actions which will benefit the peace process, which have been presented to your Directorate-General responsible for human rights. But, above all, there is one thing you can do for the sake of our peace and that is to promote the respect for the historic rights of the Basques, amongst which is fiscal sovereignty, which is the right of any other Member State of the EU. This is a sovereignty which we are willing to harmonise with everybody else, as long as it is through dialogue, understanding and agreement. Not through disrespect, inconsiderateness and even less, through imposition. We believe that peace warrants reflection with regard to all these issues. Thank you very much, Mr Prodi, for your attention. We trust that your well-known democratic disposition will help to find a satisfactory solution for all of us.

Political group: Verts-ALE