Francisco Rubio Llorente speaks about the role of regions in the European Union at Deusto Forum

Last 24 September, Deusto Forum was attended by Francisco Rubio Llorente, Chairman of the Council of State, who gave a lecture entitled 'El papel de las regiones en la Unión Europea', within the 'Insights into the future of the Basque Country' conference series. Rubio Llorente holds a PhD in Law from the University of Cologne, he is Professor at the Complutense university in Madrid, and he was made an honorary doctor by the University of Oviedo. He is the first state lawyer to have claimed that 'now that the Constitution is about to commemorate its thirtieth anniversary, it is time to start its reform'. And he pointed out, 'It would have been even better to start it prior to that of the Statutes'.
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24 September 2007

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Francisco Rubio Llorente was secretary of Parliament when the Magna Carta was created, and he was legal adviser for the text in 1978. Then, he ensured that it was developed while he occupied the post of judge and vice-chairman of the Constitutional Court between 1980-1992, and later, as chairman of the Council of State, the highest consultative body in Spain. With regard to the reform of the Constitution, he stated that it was necessary ?to carry out a slow and moderate reform?. Since, in his opinion, it would have been a miracle if we had devised a perfect and fully-comprehensive Constitution in 1978. ?We devised the Constitution that could be devised then but, in addition, the Magna Carta itself has led to a situation where a reform would seem advisable?. This lecture will bring this conference series to an end, which seeks to examine the new political situation in the Basque Country. It was planned following ETA?s ceasefire announcement in March, and, according to Javier Elzo, Deusto Forum's Chairman and member of the Forum Board, it seeks to 'help to promote reflection from the University sphere and discuss about the future of the Basque Country'. In line with this commitment, the aim of Deusto Forum was to invite important figures from all social spheres, who can contribute to the future of the Basque Country.

The first speaker of this conference series was the chairman of the Euskadi Buru Batzar, Josu Jon Imaz. Then, other speakers included: Patxi López, Secretary-General of the Basque Socialist Party, PSE-EE, Marixabel Lasa, Director of the Support Service for Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government, José M Vázquex Eguskiza, Chairman of the Employers' Confederation of Bizkaia (CEBEK), and Javier Madrazo, General Coordinator of Ezker Batua-Berdeak, Patxi Zabaleta, Coordinator of Aralar, Begoña Errazti, Chairwoman of Eusko Alkartasuna, Luc Van den Brande, Former Minister-President of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, and Daniel Innerarity, lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Zaragoza.

Now, Deusto Forum will be holding two new conference series: The first one will start on 9 October, and it will be entitled ?Arrupe and Gárate: two models?, and the second, which will he held in November, and has been organised in collaboration with the ABAO, will be devoted to Verdi.

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