Secessionist Movements In Europe Raise Many Questions

Scotland wants to become an independent state; Flanders wants to be independent from Belgium, and Catalonia is going to vote on independence from Spain.  Among other things, this raises a question about their membership in the European Union as independent states.  Spain represents the most difficult problem for the European Union.  It is a very large state and it has a history of conflict with the central government in Madrid.  The crisis in the eurozone has led to reactions against the efforts of preserving the union under stressful economic conditions.