The Ikurriņa, flag designed by the founders of the Basque Nationalist Party EAJ_PNV Luis and Sabino Arana, is regarded as the national symbol of Euskal Herria, or the Basque country.
The Ikurriņa has a white cross and a green saltire across a red background. The green St Andrew's cross might represent the Oak of Guernica, a symbol of the old laws of Bizkaia. The white cross represents Catholicism and was also found behind the Oak in the Heraldic arms of Bizkaia, and the red background represents the Basque people (originally, the Biscaynes). The red background and vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines show some similarity to the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Navarre. Some sources say that the design was inspired by that of the British union flag.
Terrorism is a problem of present-day Spain, since ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) is trying to achieve Basque independence through violent means, including the use of bombs and murders.
Although Basque Autonomous government doesn't back such kind of violence, the different approaches to the problem are a source of tension between Central and Basque governments.
The government intends to make further progress in changing labour laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area.
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