The party representing ethnic Hungarians in Romania has made public a bill asking for greater autonomy for regions in Transylvania where Hungarians are concentrated.

The Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, UDMR, is backing a draft law asking for the creation of a autonomous region in Transylvania, where 600,000 ethnic Hungarians, so-called Szeklers, live.

The region, to be called Szekler Land, is to have a local assembly and president, who would represent the region in Romanian government meetings.

“The territorial autonomy draft is ready. We will soon put it out for general debate and hope it will get support from Romanian politicians and public,” the UDMR leader, Kelemen Hunor, said. “Greater autonomy for ethnic Hungarians is possible only after changing the constitution in Romania,” he added.

According to the constitution, Romania is a unitary and indivisible national state, with only one official language – and no mainstream parties want to change that for now.

“The Social Democratic Party will address UDMR’s draft law in conformity with the constitution and European norms. But we are against any call for independence or territorial autonomy,” Ilie Sarbu, a party leader, said on Wednesday.

Romania’s governing alliance is comprised of the Social Democratic Party, PSD, and two minor parties. The UDMR also supports the coalition, and, as the price of its support, holds the Culture and Environment ministries, a vice-president’s post and 14 state secretary posts.

About 7 per cent of Romania’s 19.5 million citizens are ethnic Hungarians. Some parts of the community, especially Szeklers, have long campaigned for an autonomous region in Transylvania, which formed part of Hungary until the end of the First World War.

While Romania says “No”, experts say that the shape of Europe is changing as many countries move away from old centralised models.

“The Scottish vote for independence from England is likely to cause a political movement across Europe and to feed the appetite for self-rule,” political analyst Maria Singeorzan said.

“Romania does not seem ready now for such a move, but this is possible in the future,” she added.

“There are many historical and political differences between Scotland and the Szekler region but the precedent of a vote on self-determination could become a strong argument for the Hungarian minority in its calls for greater autonomy,” Singeorzan continued.

The Scottish referendum on independence on Thursday is whetting appetites for self-rule in many parts of Europe, including Catalonia and the Basque Country in Spain, Flanders in Belgium and the South Tyrol region in Italy.

Pro-independence Catalans plan told a Scottish-style vote in Catalonia in November – although Spain has said such a vote would be deemed illegal.

Regions are not only turning to the separatists in greater numbers for historical reasons. Many want also to protest against economic austerity policies imposed by the political elites, which are increasingly seen as being out of touch with ordinary citizens.