Vitoria-Gasteiz

Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spanish: Vitoria[biˈtoɾja], Basque: Gasteiz[ɡas̺teis̻]) is the capital city of the Basque Autonomous Community and of the province of Araba/Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community's House of Parliament, the headquarters of the Government, and the Lehendakari's (Prime Minister's) official residency. The municipality — which comprises not only the city but also the mainly agricultural lands of 63 villages around — is the largest in the Basque Autonomous Community, with a total area of 276.81 km² (106.88 sq mi), and it has a population of 242,082 people (2014). The dwellers of Vitoria-Gasteiz are called vitorianos or gasteiztarrak, while traditionally they are dubbed babazorros (Basque for 'bean sacks'). Vitoria-Gasteiz is a multicultural city with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, healthcare, architectural conservation, aeronautics, vehicle industry, oenology and gastronomy. It is the first Spanish municipality to be awarded the title of European Green Capital (in 2012) and it is consistently ranked as one of the 5 best places to live in Spain. The old town holds some of the best preserved medieval streets and plazas in the region and it is one of very few cities to hold two Cathedrals. The city also holds well known festivals such as the Azkena rock festival, FesTVal, Vitoria-Gasteiz jazz festival, and the Virgen Blanca Festivities.

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country (/ˈbæsk/, /ˈbɑːsk/; Basque: Euskadi [eus̺kadi]; Spanish: País Vasco [paˈis ˈβasko]; French: Pays Basque) is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa.

The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil, although the territory of Navarre was left out and made into a separate autonomous community.

Currently there is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city that holds the Basque Parliament, the headquarters of the Basque Government and the Basque Autonomous Community's President's residency (Ajuria Enea Palace) is Vitoria-Gasteiz, located in the province of Álava. Whilst Vitoria-Gasteiz is the largest municipality in area, with 277 km² (107 sq mi), Bilbao is the largest in population, with 353,187 people, located in the province of Biscay within a conurbation of 875,552 people.

European Green Capital Award

The European Green Capital Award is an award for a European city based on its environmental record. The award was launched on 22 May 2008 and the first award was given to Stockholm for the year 2010. The European Commission has long recognised the important role that local authorities play in improving the environment, and their high level of commitment to genuine progress. The European Green Capital Award has been conceived as an initiative to promote and reward these efforts.

Award Process

Starting in 2010, one European city is selected each year as the European Green Capital of the year. The award is given to a city that:

Eligibility

All cities across Europe with more than 100,000 inhabitants can be a candidate for European Green Capital. The award is open to EU Member States, EU Candidate Countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In countries where there is no city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to apply. Please note: where applicable, cities may apply for either the EGCA or EGL, but not both, in any given year.

The Greens–European Free Alliance

The Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) is the political group in the European Parliament containing green, regionalist and nationalist political parties. The group was formed following the 1999 European elections for the 5th European Parliament.

The Greens/EFA group consists of two distinct European political parties – the European Green Party (EGP) and the European Free Alliance (EFA). The EFA consists of parties representing stateless nations, regionalist and minority political interests. The Alliance has generally limited its membership to progressive parties. These European parties are joined by MEPs from non-aligned national parties, which have included the Dutch Europe Transparent (2004–2009) and the Swedish Pirate Party (2009–2014).

Group members

References

External links

Basque Country

Basque Country may refer to:

See also