ANTWERP, Belgium — Old demons of regional separatism....
Belgium’s prosperous Flanders region....
Independence-minded nationalists also have made recent gains in Spain’s Basque Country and in Catalonia....
In Scotland....
‘‘Secessionist temptations are legion on our continent these days,’’ Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Green representative in the European Parliament, warned in a recent column.
On the other side of the ledger, two long-term separatist strains have receded, at least for the moment: on the French island of Corsica, where Mafia-style crime has eclipsed the nationalist movement, and in industrialized northern Italy, where scandal has set back the Northern League, forcing it to temper its complaints about paying high taxes to compensate for lazy and larcenous Sicilians.
Viewed from afar, the nations of Europe seem to have such a timeless history, under kings, prime ministers, and presidents, that no one would think of pulling out of the country in favor of regional separatism. But struggles for regional cultural and political independence — the Basque ETA set off bombs for decades — have long burned under the surface, a permanent part of the European landscape.
In the Balkans, the death of Marshal Tito set off bloody regional wars in the 1990s that resulted in the breakup of Yugoslavia into half a dozen new states. Czechoslovakia also split after the fall of the Soviet Union, but peacefully, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Western Europe’s recently successful separatist leaders have shown no clear inclination for such violence, although some have suggested they could be tempted to violate constitutional law if their demands are not met. But even if the separatists remain peaceful, the resurgence of regional nationalists has created another debilitating struggle for leaders already trying to hold together a European Union undermined by punishing debts and divergent economies.
That is what they are really concerned about.
Ironically, the regional separatists have benefited from the success of the European Union over the last half-century and the ideal of seeing, one day, a United States of Europe in which the role of national governments would diminish....
In most instances, breakaway leaders have strengthened their positions recently because they found it easier to broaden their support in the context of Europe’s relentless financial crisis. By forcing central governments to enact painful tax increases and spending cuts, the crisis has made the perennial quests for local independence more attractive to ordinary people who feel they are overtaxed for social welfare programs that transfer wealth to other regions....
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Also see: Sunday Globe Special: Stereotypes Splitting Europe
Related:
"European Central Bank unveils sweeping rescue plan" by Jack Ewingand Melissa Eddy | New York Times, September 07, 2012
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a sweeping program for buying the bonds of troubled eurozone countries, giving the bank potentially unprecedented power.
While the bank’s president, Mario Draghi, insisted that the central bank was not violating a prohibition on its financing governments, it was effectively becoming lender of last resort to countries as well as banks....
See: Draghi the Dictator
UPDATE: Europe central bank chief urges single-bank bailout fund
By forcing governments to impose fiscal discipline on each other and remake their economies along lines dictated by the ECB, power will inevitably drift from national capitals to Frankfurt, where the central bank is based, and Brussels, the administrative seat of the European Union....
See: Draghi the Dictator
UPDATE: Europe central bank chief urges single-bank bailout fund
By forcing governments to impose fiscal discipline on each other and remake their economies along lines dictated by the ECB, power will inevitably drift from national capitals to Frankfurt, where the central bank is based, and Brussels, the administrative seat of the European Union....
That's why the people want out.
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Also see: Right to petition White House no laughing matter
It's an EPIDEMIC of FREEDOM!
UPDATES:
"Separatists surge in Belgium vote" Associated Press, October 15, 2012
BRUSSELS — Early results from Belgian municipal elections Sunday showed widespread gains for a separatist party that is seeking autonomy for the wealthy Dutch-speaking northern Flanders region....
Moves toward separatism in the European Union have been getting a bigger stage during the continent’s economic crisis. Spain’s Catalonia is grousing that it has to pay for others in its crisis-hit country, and Scotland is seeking a referendum on breaking away from the United Kingdom.
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"Scots move closer to vote on independence from UK" Associated Press, October 16, 2012
EDINBURGH — Scotland moved a step closer Monday to a vote on independence after Scottish and British leaders signed a deal laying the groundwork for a popular referendum that could radically alter the shape of the United Kingdom.
Officials from London and Edinburgh have been meeting for weeks to craft the details. Sticking points included the date and the wording of the question.
On Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond in Edinburgh to approve the deal. No date was set, but the vote will probably be held in October 2014, as Salmond’s nationalists had wished....
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Also see: British Boast
Also see: Right to petition White House no laughing matter
It's an EPIDEMIC of FREEDOM!
UPDATES:
"Separatists surge in Belgium vote" Associated Press, October 15, 2012
BRUSSELS — Early results from Belgian municipal elections Sunday showed widespread gains for a separatist party that is seeking autonomy for the wealthy Dutch-speaking northern Flanders region....
Moves toward separatism in the European Union have been getting a bigger stage during the continent’s economic crisis. Spain’s Catalonia is grousing that it has to pay for others in its crisis-hit country, and Scotland is seeking a referendum on breaking away from the United Kingdom.
--more--"
"Scots move closer to vote on independence from UK" Associated Press, October 16, 2012
EDINBURGH — Scotland moved a step closer Monday to a vote on independence after Scottish and British leaders signed a deal laying the groundwork for a popular referendum that could radically alter the shape of the United Kingdom.
Officials from London and Edinburgh have been meeting for weeks to craft the details. Sticking points included the date and the wording of the question.
On Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond in Edinburgh to approve the deal. No date was set, but the vote will probably be held in October 2014, as Salmond’s nationalists had wished....
--more--"
Also see: British Boast
