Francesc-Marc Álvaro on regionalism in Belgium and Spain

The new regionalism in Belgian Flanders is encouraging for the Spanish regions of Catalonia and the Basque country, writes Francesc-Marc Álvaro in the Catalan daily La Vanguardia: "More Flanders, less Belgium, more Europe. This is the formula Bart de Wever proposes for unblocking the institutional logjam in the state of Belgium. ... What is happening in Belgium is being observed with understandable interest in the different parts of Spain. As always in these cases, some commentators in Madrid have already warned that anyone who sees an analogy with Catalonia or the Basque country needs to go to an eye specialist. Without doubt Belgium and Spain have nothing in common from a historical or political point of view. Nor do the UK and Spain, or the former Czechoslovakia and Spain. ... But the fact that the Spanish case is just as unique and unrepeatable as those mentioned above (since no national problem is identical) doesn't prevent us from looking to this umpteenth attempt of the Belgians to find a way out of their predicament for something useful or inspiring."

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