As Scotland decided whether
to break away from the United Kingdom on Thursday, fears of a
yes vote to independence gripped many parts of Europe.
Separatist movements, meanwhile, including Italy's
Northern League party, were egging the Scots to go it alone and
demanding the right for their own independence referenda.
"Bankers, financiers, footballers and almost all the
English politicians together with (Premier Matteo Renzi's) PD in
Italy) are against Scotland's independence," Northern League
leader Matteo Salvini wrote on his Facebook page Thursday after
travelling to Edinburgh.
"The young are in favour. That's another reason to cheer
for Yes Scotland".
League MEP Mario Borghezio shouted "Scotland Independent"
in Scottish Gaelic at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Pro-independence Catalans are watching Scotland's
referendum closely, with plans for a similar vote in Catalonia
in November, although Spain's constitutional court is expected
to rule it invalid.
A yes vote would also strengthen the independence cause in
Spain's Basque Country, which was hit by decades of violence
before terrorist group ETA declared a ceasefire in 2010.
Earlier this year Veneto separatists held an unofficial
online vote in which they said two million overwhelming endorsed
breaking from Italy.
Other areas of Europe with major separatist groups include
Wales in Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Corsica in France,
Moravia in the Czech Republic and Upper Silesia in Poland.
The fear of contagion stretches far into Eastern Europe,
with the Baltic countries worried that Moscow will back the
causes of ethnic Russians in their countries after annexing
Crimea and supporting separatist rebels in Eastern Ukraine this
year.
Other regions where there are more muted calls for
independence include Cornwall in Britain, and South Tyrol and
Sardinia in Italy.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has said
that any newly independent country emerging from an EU nation
would no longer be part of the bloc, and would have to reapply
for membership, meaning Scotland will likely have to go through
a long accession process if it does go independent.
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