Vitoria, Spain - The parliament of Spain's Basque region on Tuesday began a historic session which was due to elect socialist Patxi Lopez as the region's first prime minister defending its unity with Spain.

In his speech, which he began in Basque, Lopez called for unity and expressed satisfaction over the fact that parties linked to the violent separatist group ETA had been excluded by law from the regional parliament.

Until now, the region of 2.2 million residents had been governed by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which seeks weaker ties with Spain, since the Basques were granted a far-reaching autonomy three decades ago.

The PNV won the March 1 elections, but Lopez was expected to be elected prime minister with the backing of the conservative People's Party (PP).

Lopez heads the Basque branch of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party.

Lopez was expected to focus his policies on fighting ETA and on combating the ongoing economic crisis.

ETA, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has killed more than 820 people since 1968.(dpa)