Compares Northern Ireland with Western Europe's other hot spot, the Basque Country. It links both regions with the process of European integration. Keating's view is that, as this promotes a move away from the traditional notion of single identities and sovereign nation-states towards more complex multiple identities and forms of shared sovereignty; it offers a potential way out of both conflicts.
Keywords: Agreement, Basque Country, European integration, multiple identities, nation-state, Northern Ireland, sovereignty