European Disunion

Henry Srebrnik, [Halifax, Nova Scotia] Chronicle Herald

Many are the academics and politicians who have predicted the death of nationalism in a Europe where people are bound ever more closely, economically and politically, within the European Union.

But as a new year dawns, three regions on the continent may be moving towards independence.

It appears that referenda will take place in 2014 in both Catalonia, one of Spain’s most prosperous regions, and Scotland, which has been part of Great Britain for more than three centuries.

Catalonia has a long history of national self-awareness, dating back to the Middle Ages, and was only fully absorbed into Spain in the 18th century. When the Spanish monarchy was succeeded by the left-wing Spanish Republic in 1931, Catalonia became virtually self-governing. 

However, its autonomy ended and Catalan nationalism was suppressed after the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War, when the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco defeated the republic and re-imposed a centralized state in Spain. Catalan was even outlawed as a language to be learned in school.

After Franco’s death in 1975, a democratic political system was re-established, one more favourable to the aspirations of regions such as Catalonia. Since 1978, it has been termed an “autonomous community” within the Spanish kingdom, and the 2006 Statute of Autonomy passed by the Catalan parliament defines it as a nation.

But even this may not be enough. In the November 25 Catalan parliamentary election, four parties supporting a secession referendum gathered 59 per cent of the votes and gained 87 of the 135 seats in the Catalan Parliament. 

Artur Mas, president of the Catalan government, said that his Convergencia i Unio (Convergence and Unity) party -- at 50 seats, the largest group in the assembly -- will organize a plebiscite so that the 7.5 million Catalans can decide on their status for themselves. But Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, views any independence referendum as a violation of the country’s constitution.

On the other hand, an agreement setting out terms for a Scottish independence referendum for its 5.2 million people was signed on October 15 by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond. The vote will be held in the autumn of 2014.

Scotland was an independent nation for centuries, from the early Middle Ages to the Treaty of Union with England in 1707, when the parliaments of the two countries were combined at Westminster and a new state, Great Britain, was born.

Scotland retained many of its institutions, including separate educational and legal systems.

In recent decades, demands for Scottish home rule grew, culminating in the creation of a devolved Scottish parliament in 1999.

While this has given Scotland greater autonomy within the United Kingdom, the Scottish National Party, led by Salmond, wants a fully sovereign Scotland.

The party won 69 of 129 seats in the Scottish assembly in the May 2011 election, and Salmond called the “Edinburgh Agreement” that he negotiated with Cameron one that will lead to Scotland becoming “a prosperous and successful European country, reflecting Scottish values of fairness and opportunity, promoting equality and social cohesion.”

Belgium has virtually ceased being a state, with its two main regions, Flanders and Wallonia, increasingly going their separate ways.

The Belgian kingdom, established in 1830, has always been an uneasy union of Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons. For most of its history, the richer French in industrialized Wallonia ran the country and were disdainful of the poorer, rural Dutch.

Today, though, Flanders is significantly richer than Wallonia and its people are no longer second-class Belgians. But though the 6.3 million people in the Flanders region have achieved nearly total autonomy, both administrative and linguistic, many still resent the former hegemony of Wallonia. 

In provincial elections held on October 14, the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (New Flemish Alliance), which advocates the eventual independence of Flanders, gained 104 of the 351 seats in the Flemish parliament and is now part of a Flemish coalition government. In fact, party leader Bart De Wever has made it the largest party in Belgium. The country is slowly dissolving.

If any of these entities do manage to acquire independence, they will seek membership in the European Union, and this may pose a problem for a supra-national body which already consists of 27 member states. In the end, though, there will be no choice other than to let them join.