Europe changing shape whichever way Scotland goes

[unhappycamper]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/14/us-scotland-independence-europe-analysis-idUSKBN0H906E20140914



A boy marches with a flute band during a pro-Union rally in Edinburgh, Scotland, September 13, 2014.

Europe changing shape whichever way Scotland goes
By Paul Taylor
PARIS Sun Sep 14, 2014 4:32am EDT

(Reuters) - Whatever the outcome of this week's Scottish referendum on independence, the shape of Europe is changing as power ebbs away from old nation states, sparking a backlash in some places.

If Scots vote "Yes" to splitting from England after 307 years of union, it will cause a political earthquake and whet appetites for self-rule from Catalonia to Flanders.

If they vote "No", the British government has promised to decentralize more powers to Edinburgh, with likely knock-on effects in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Either way, the precedent of a plebiscite on self-determination will reverberate around the continent.