Expatica news

Court: Basque parliament must fly Spanish flag

1 December 2008

MADRID – The Basque regional parliament must fly the Spanish national flag, the country’s supreme court has ruled, citing a 1981 law and dismissing an appeal by the assembly.

The parliament, dominated by a moderate Basque nationalist coalition, had protested a verdict by the regional supreme court, saying there was no flagpole on the building and it had never flown any flag whatever.

Spain’s supreme court ruled Friday that the law stating that every official building should fly the Spanish flag took precedence over custom.

The March general election campaign saw criticism of the failure of many town halls and other local government buildings in the autonomous Basque Country and Catalonia to diplay the Spanish flag.

In both regions, which have powerful nationalist movements, the Basque and Catalan flags are much more common than the Spanish emblem.

[AFP / Expatica]