iacrobat;
The plan is entirely unilateral in nature, and puts Spain, if it were to accept it, in the awkward position of breaking down its consitution, not to mention the convenants it has accepted under EU law. Essentially, the plan serves its nationalistic goals in the most indulgent of ways; we are back to square one. Should the plan ever finally be enacted, the Basque Country would stay out of Spain and the European Union, for all intents and purposes, something that the vast majority of the Basque simply do not want. According to his plan, self-determination is purely unilateral, relies heavily on breaking up even MORE territories, relies on economic autonomy without even having an economic plan (The Basque country's economy would inevitably collapse) and reeks of ethnic nationalism. These are just the classical arguments, but if I were to be purely candid with you, I would have to say that Mr. Ibarretxe's 'plan' is nothing more but his age-old manifesto made to look more diplomatically acceptable to those interested, when it is still spouting the same dated ideals, misguided arguments and a sense of nationalistic pride that borders on the insane.
Ultimately, I have a lot of dislike for this plan and the man behind it, because he is, essentially, the heart of the problem. Yes, ETA are the ones blowing everyone up, but his philosophy is definately adding fuel to the fire.
Ant.