Brussels, 09/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The new Spanish Justice Minister, José Maria Michavila, said on Monday in Brussels that Spain will be asking for Batasuna to be included on the European terrorist list once the party has been banned in Spain. José Maria Michavila was in Brussels to meet European Justice Commissioner Antonio Vitorino and to inform him of the process under way before the Spanish Supreme Court to ban the Batasuna party. Madrid has been stepping pressure up in vain over the past year for Batasuna, the political arm of the Basque terrorist group ETA, to be included on the European Union's black list. The list was approved on 27 December and has been modified on several occasions (EUROPE of 20 June). Several of its partners have refused to include Batasuna, arguing that the group could not be designated as "terrorist" in Brussels if it is recognised as a perfectly legal party in Spain. The process of banning Batasuna is now being initiated in Spain, with the new law on parties and referral to the Supreme Court. "If the Supreme Court declares Batasuna illegal, for being an instrumental part of ETA, then we shall of course begin appropriate action so that Europe" considers it as such, the Spanish Minister said after his meeting with Antonio Vitorino. Although Antonio Vitorino stressed that the Commission was naturally on the side of Spain in the fight against terrorism, he did not wish to take a stance on banning Batasuna. This question "comes under the sovereignty of the Spanish State", he told the press. (See EUROPE of 4 September, pages 6 and 7, on the subject of discussions within the European Parliament).