Bilbao, Spain  - Basque separatists Wednesday hailed the vote giving Greenland more autonomy as proving the right of peoples to self-determination within the European Union.

The vote showed the democratic character of Denmark, which had allowed it to take place, as opposed to "the blinkered attitude of Spain, which denies the right of the Basque people to obtain independence," said Mikel Irujo, a European Parliament member and spokesman for Eusko Alkartasuna (EA).

EA is in the Basque regional government, which is headed by the more moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). (dpa)