The conflict over the Treviño enclave is a

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...

in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

between the administration of the

Province of Burgos The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladoli ...

and

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

on the one side, and those of

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álav ...

and the Basque Country on the other, over the administration of the territory. The conflict does not only involve territorial questions, but also extends to political and language issues, as well as questions about provision of services and transport connections. Geographically, the

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

is situated inside the Province of Álava, which completely surrounds it. However, administratively, it belongs to the Province of Burgos. The territory is near the large Basque city of

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ), also alternatively spelled as Vittoria in old English-language sources, is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community' ...

, with over 200,000 inhabitants, while the nearest urban center in Burgos province is

Miranda de Ebro Miranda de Ebro (Spanish: iˈɾan̪da ðe ˈeβɾo is a city on the Ebro river in the province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located in the north-eastern part of the province, on the border with the prov ...

, with about 40,000 inhabitants. The enclave holds cultural, commercial and linguistic links with the neighbouring Álava province. According to a Burgos newspaper, in a legal sense there is no territorial dispute, since Treviño's status as part of Castile and León is long established. However, Treviño has been subject to heated political dispute during the last decades, including legal litigation at the highest level. The two municipalities which make up the enclave, Condado de Treviño and

La Puebla de Arganzón La Puebla de Arganzón (also written Lapuebla de Arganzón); is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. It is in the Comarca del Ebro and the Judicial district Miranda de Ebro. According to the INE, the municipa ...

, have at various times sought to join Álava, and the inhabitants of the two towns have also campaigned to join the Basque Country.

History

Treviño was officially founded in 1161 by King Sancho VI of Navarre on the site of a monastery. and became part of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th ce ...

in 1201, following a military victory by King

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army a ...

over the Navarrans. When

Javier de Burgos Francisco Javier de Burgos y del Olmo (22 October 1778—22 January 1848) was a Spanish jurist, politician, journalist, and translator. Early life and career Born in Motril, into a noble but poor family, he was destined for a career in th ...

conducted the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).Basque territories clung on to home rule (''fueros'') up to the end of the Third Carlist War, with their separate taxation system. Therefore, the fiscal contribution of the enclave added to the Spanish central coffers, not to the Basque relevant one—Álava. Following this legislation, three unsuccessful attempts were made to incorporate the area into Álava. In 1880, the two municipalities covering Treviño requested that they be transferred from Burgos to Álava, while the inhabitants of the enclave requested their transfer in 1940 and 1958.

Position of Álava and the Treviño enclave

Most of the main political parties in Álava are in favour of adding the Treviño enclave to their territory. Modern votes on Treviño's status date from the 1940 referendum in Treviño, where 98% of the population voted to join Álava. Several further attempts have occurred since then. In 1980, both municipalities of the enclave overwhelmingly voted in support of an incorporation into Álava; some time before, UCD representatives in the councils had been removed from their positions for supporting the incorporation. In 1998, in another unofficial referendum, 68% of voters in the exclave were in favour of holding an official referendum on joining Álava. 76% of voters took part. The municipality of

voted in 1995 and 1997 to join Álava. The majority of political parties in Treviño are in favour of joining Álava, with the authorities of the enclave requesting the initiation of proceedings leading to their incorporation into Álava in 2013. Their reasons are usually the regular historic bonds, cultural idiosyncrasy, commercial links and the practical grounds of better links with Álava rather than Burgos.

Position of Burgos

In contrast, all political groupings in Burgos have defended the enclave remaining part of their territory, on both legal and historic grounds.

1970s and 1980s

In 1979, deputies (congressmen) Xabier Arzalluz of the

Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...

(PNV) and José María Bandrés of

Euskadiko Ezkerra Euskadiko Ezkerra (EE; en, Basque Country Left) was a Basque socialist political organisation. It was founded as a coalition of Euskal Iraultzarako Alderdia (EIA, ''Basque Party for Revolution'' or ''Party for Basque Revolution'') and other B ...

, affirmed that Article 8 of the then-new

Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country {{Politics of Basque Country (autonomous community) The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1979 ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko Estatutua; es, Estatuto de Autonomía del País Vasco), widely known as the Statute of Gernika ( eu, Gerni ...

was intended to integrate Treviño into Álava and the similar exclave of Villaverde de Trucíos (

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

) into

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

. Mariano González Clavero
Partidos políticos en el proceso autonómico de Castilla y León. 1975 - 1983
, 2002 doctoral thesis at the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The u ...

, Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. p. 501. This is page 517 of the PDF. Accessed online 2010-01-04. Nonetheless, Treviño remained part of the province of Burgos. Burgos was quick to react by sealing in their later Statute of Autonomy (1983) any possibility of a smooth integration of Treviño into Álava by means of provisions that actually clash with the avenues established in the

Basque Statute of Autonomy {{Politics of Basque Country (autonomous community) The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1979 ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko Estatutua; es, Estatuto de Autonomía del País Vasco), widely known as the Statute of Gernika ( eu, Gerni ...

(1978), since it requires the consent of the authorities of the province of Burgos and the autonomous community of Castile and León before Treviño can join Álava.Cesar Aguado Renedo
Acerca de la Naturaleza Jurídica del Estatuto de Autonomía
''Revista Española de Derecho Constitucional'', Número 49. January–April 1997. p. 184 (p. 16 of PDF), note 55. Accessed online 2010-01-13. After that, the government and parliament of the Basque Country brought a case challenging the constitutionality of that provision, but in 1986 it was rejected by the

Constitutional Court of Spain The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...

. (The Statutes of Autonomy in Spain were approved as

Organic Law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state. By country France Under Articl ...

by the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies m ...

)

2013 and on

The 2011 local elections in the two Treviño municipalities resulted in a majority of seats for parties in favour of joining Álava and a formal request for this to take place. However, the Province of Burgos blocked the move. The position held by the Castilian authorities has halted attempts by the municipalities to change their status. The mayor of the Treviño municipality stated in February 2014 that the question of Treviño has been turned into a matter of State, and urged the Spanish government to accept the bill passed by the Basque parliament to take the steps necessary for the incorporation of the enclave. In the 2015 local elections pro-integration parties won the elections again in both Condado de Treviño and

. In Condado de Treviño two local parties in favour of joining Álava were the most voted (Citizens of El Condado and Independent Group of the Condado de Treviño), while in Arganzón the independent group "Nueva Puebla" gained 64.69% of the votes. In April 2018, after 23 years of dire dispute on the provision of services to the enclave's population, the authorities of Burgos and Álava reached a large-scale agreement in this respect. As of June 2019, two Basque parties, PNV and

EH Bildu EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu ( en, link=yes, Basque Country Gather or Basque Country Unite) is a left-wing, Basque nationalist, pro-independence political coalition active in the Spanish autonomous communities of Basque Country, Nava ...

, rule in the two municipalities making up the enclave following electoral victories, with a key point in their agenda to incorporate Treviño into Álava.

In film

The 2019 Spanish comedy film '' The Little Switzerland'' is inspired by the Treviño dispute and the British comedy ''

Passport to Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the u ...

''. The inhabitants of Tellería, a Castilian enclave in the Basque Country, try to become a new

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Co ...

after being frustrated by both Basque and Castile-Leon authorities.

History

Position of Álava and the Treviño enclave

Position of Burgos

1970s and 1980s

2013 and on

In film

Sources

References

Further reading