Introduction

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Europe is facing a series of secessionist movements. In Belgium, nationalists have won electoral pluralities in Flanders; Catalonia in Spain will hold early elections in November, with the Nationalist Coalition well in the lead; and a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is planned for 2014.

The European Union did not prepare for the possibility of an internal secession. What are the legal, political and economic implications of secession in these regions and the E.U.?