Fears of contagion of Scottish 'yes' vot

(ANSA) - Milan, September 18 - 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.