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| Separation anxiety: the state of independence movements in Europe | Separation anxiety: the state of independence movements in Europe |
| (7 months later) | |
| The apparent resurgence of the independence movement in Catalonia finds echoes among other minority nationalist groups in Europe. | The apparent resurgence of the independence movement in Catalonia finds echoes among other minority nationalist groups in Europe. |
| The Scottish National party's plan to hold an independence referendum in 2014 places Scotland at the head of Europe's separatist pack. While public opinion polls suggest the "no" campaign would prevail were a vote held today, attitudes may change as the referendum draws near. | The Scottish National party's plan to hold an independence referendum in 2014 places Scotland at the head of Europe's separatist pack. While public opinion polls suggest the "no" campaign would prevail were a vote held today, attitudes may change as the referendum draws near. |
| Much of the SNP leader Alex Salmond's efforts to date have been devoted to persuading Scots that there are few risks in breaking away from the UK, and that much would remain the same. His strategy was torpedoed this week from an unexpected quarter when José Manuel Barroso, the European commission president, indicated an independent Scotland would not automatically qualify for EU membership and would have to apply like any other candidate country – a view with implications for those Catalans and others who wish for greater autonomy. | Much of the SNP leader Alex Salmond's efforts to date have been devoted to persuading Scots that there are few risks in breaking away from the UK, and that much would remain the same. His strategy was torpedoed this week from an unexpected quarter when José Manuel Barroso, the European commission president, indicated an independent Scotland would not automatically qualify for EU membership and would have to apply like any other candidate country – a view with implications for those Catalans and others who wish for greater autonomy. |
| As in Catalonia, fiscal and financial considerations will play a big part in Scotland's decision, given current high levels of public spending and the importance of public-sector jobs. The former prime minister Gordon Brown, a Scot, said this week that breaking up the UK would lead to a "race to the bottom" on tax and public spending that would hurt ordinary people. | As in Catalonia, fiscal and financial considerations will play a big part in Scotland's decision, given current high levels of public spending and the importance of public-sector jobs. The former prime minister Gordon Brown, a Scot, said this week that breaking up the UK would lead to a "race to the bottom" on tax and public spending that would hurt ordinary people. |
| Like Catalonia, Spain's Basque areas already enjoy significant levels of autonomy. Years of violent attacks and assassinations carried out by the armed Basque nationalist and separatist organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), meaning "Basque homeland and freedom", gave prominence to separatist sentiment. Violence, though, was repudiated by most Basques, and last October, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed struggle". Spain's Basques have their own president and parliament, its own police force and control of their own budget. But if the Catalan movement gains traction, a knock-on effect is likely. | Like Catalonia, Spain's Basque areas already enjoy significant levels of autonomy. Years of violent attacks and assassinations carried out by the armed Basque nationalist and separatist organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), meaning "Basque homeland and freedom", gave prominence to separatist sentiment. Violence, though, was repudiated by most Basques, and last October, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed struggle". Spain's Basques have their own president and parliament, its own police force and control of their own budget. But if the Catalan movement gains traction, a knock-on effect is likely. |
| Elsewhere in the EU, Italy's Northern League (Lega Nord) is nominally committed to the independence of "Padania", its term for the country's northern regions but in practice it pursues a federalist agenda. At one time it advocated secession, but in recent years has been drawn into national politics and joined the last Berlusconi government. | Elsewhere in the EU, Italy's Northern League (Lega Nord) is nominally committed to the independence of "Padania", its term for the country's northern regions but in practice it pursues a federalist agenda. At one time it advocated secession, but in recent years has been drawn into national politics and joined the last Berlusconi government. |
| Bavaria, in southern Germany, has an even less vigorous separatist tradition dating back to the days of the pre-war Bavarian People's party. | Bavaria, in southern Germany, has an even less vigorous separatist tradition dating back to the days of the pre-war Bavarian People's party. |
| At the heart of the EU, though, in Belgium, the separatist tendencies of the French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemish are frequently aired. | At the heart of the EU, though, in Belgium, the separatist tendencies of the French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemish are frequently aired. |
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