Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba says he expects the Basque terrorist organisation ETA to attempt an attack during the next six months when Spain holds the rotating European Union presidency.

According to the minister, it would be an enormous publicity coup for the Basque separatist organisation if it were to stage a successful attack while Spain was at the centre of European politics.

Over the last few years, the French and Spanish police have had considerable success against ETA; hundreds of members have been arrested, including dozens of leaders, and huge caches of weapons have been seized.
 

Despite the setbacks, the Basque terrorist group has continued its operations. Last summer, an attack in Bilbao killed one police officer and the organisation staged a number of attacks on the Balearic island of Mallorca.