Europe: Stretched at the seams

Major analysis feature. Separatist movements across Europe raise questions about the European Union.

Under the pressures of recession, fragile public finances and political grievances that have smouldered for decades, if not centuries, Europe is witnessing a rise in separatism and regionalism that is testing the resilience of well-established states. Independence movements in Scotland, Catalonia and Flanders are capturing votes and the public imagination as they seek to break away or gain more autonomy from Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Website: European Free Alliance http://www.e-f-a.org/home.php

ESO: Background information: Secessionist wave sweeps Belgium http://www.europeansources.info/record/secessionist-wave-sweeps-belgium/

ESO: Background information: Europe’s regions go it alone at their peril http://www.europeansources.info/record/europes-regions-go-it-alone-at-their-peril/

ESO: Background information: The answer to Scottish separatism is a federal union http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-answer-to-scottish-separatism-is-a-federal-union/

ESO: Background information: Catalonia's quest for greater autonomy http://www.europeansources.info/record/catalonias-quest-for-greater-autonomy/

Deutsche Welle, 27.11.12: EU debt crisis gives boost to separatists http://www.dw.de/eu-debt-crisis-gives-boost-to-separatists/a-16407226

---