In European Union numerous still exist today secessionist or independence movements within some countries: one of the most famous examples is undoubtedly that of Cataloniawhich in 2017 became a warm front again following the clashes and the arrest of some senior leaders of the Catalan independence parties. In the UK, the Scotland and theNorthern Irelandabove all, maintain independence pushes towards the English Crown and even in Italy there are regions, such as the Veneto or the Sardiniawhich have seen the emergence of political parties claiming independence from the Italian central government.
Catalonia: the independentist parties
There Catalonia is one of the best-known European regions that wants to reach theindependence by the central government of Madrid. In the 2017 a referendum was called, promoted by the main pro-independence parties to vote for the independence of the region. Considered illegal by the Spanish state, it caused several clashes with the police and the military, particularly in the city of Barcelona. That of Catalonia is an issue that has its roots already in 14th centurywith the Constitution of Generalitat de Catalunyabut it is specifically at the end of 1800 that the demands for cultural, social and political independence were taking shape and gave rise to the so-called Catalanism.
During the dictatorship of Francisco FrancoCatalonia was stripped of any autonomy, following the support given to republican forces during the civil war. With Franco’s death in 1975 and the beginning of transition (transition) – the period in which Spain transformed from a dictatorial regime into a constitutional, social and democratic state – in 1978 was approved Spanish Constitution which, subjected to a popular referendum, saw in Catalonia a majority greater than 90%. Currently, the push for independence in Catalonia is still very numerous, despite the current Spanish government Pedro Sanchez sought an agreement and the support of the Catalan independence parties in its government majority.
The Basque Country
Still within Spain, Basque independence movement is one of the best known, in particular for the events linked to the movement AGE (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna whose meaning is “Basque Country and Freedom”), the armed group that was the protagonist of the 20th century independence causeeven with armed attacks that between the 1960s and 1990s caused more than 800 victims. The Basque Country has always considered itself an entity in itself, due to cultural and even linguistic differences: the Basque language it is considered one of the oldest in Europe and its origins are still being studied today. The Basque nationalist party was born in 1895, as ETA began to make its way into the 1958. Currently, in the Basque Country, the nationalist parties still constitute the majority in the regional government: in the last elections, in April 2024, the Basque nationalist party he won with the 32.5% of votes, together with a coalition of political parties close to the independence cause.
Corsica and independence from France
An island with almost behind it 50 years of claims it’s there Corsica. After the Genoese domination, which lasted from the end of the 1200s to the end of the 18th century, Corsica was annexed to France: Italy granted it with Treaty of Versailles of 1768. Like the Basque Country and Catalonia, Corsica also has its own language, the coursewhich can be taught optionally in schools on the island. While previously it was part of the Côte d’Azur-Provence-Corsica region, in 1970 became a region in its own right and in 1982 was created onRegional assembly with its own statute.
The struggle for greater autonomy or even independence from the French government found its peak with the creation in 1976 of Corsican National Liberation Front. This movement, often the perpetrator of violence, formally dissolved in 1983but still today claims a “Corsican nationalism”. Currently, even in the latest elections, the autonomist movement is in the majority, with the 56% of the presence in the Regional Assembly. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was open to greater recognition of Corsica’s autonomy, with the adaptation of national laws to local needs and the official establishment of abilingual public education.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
In the United Kingdom the independence push mainly concerns theNorthern Ireland and the Scotland. Already at the time of Irish War of Independence against the United Kingdom of 1919-1921Belfast wanted independence, a condition that particularly after the Brexit in 2017 it returned to the agenda. In Northern Ireland the majority of citizens had spoken against the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The Irish independence party, the Sinn Feindemocratic socialist, was born in 1905 and is present in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. He took part in 1998 al Belfast Agreementalso famous by the name of Good Friday Agreementwith whom they settled status and the system of Government of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, the relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom and between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the last elections of November 30th Sinn Féin reached approximately 20% of preferences, obtaining 39 seats in Parliament.
As for the Scotlandin 2014 a referendum was called, in agreement with the central government in London, in which the 55% of Scots had spoken out against leaving the United Kingdom. A few years later, in 2017, the majority of the Scottish population with the 62% of the preferences he voted against Brexit unlike the rest of the country. Since then, that of independence is still an open question in Scotland: among the dominant motivations, in addition to the identity one, there is also the economic and political one, in particular for the control of his natural resourcesthesuch as oil fields in the North Sea, and also about the economic consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Many political analysts argue that in the Scottish elections of 2026 the theme of‘independence could return to the fore, also asking for re-membership of the European Union.
Independence in Italy
As regards theItaly there are numerous regions that have seen the birth of parties that require greater autonomy if not – in some cases – theindependence.
An example is that of Lombardywhich with the birth of the Northern League party in 1996 asked for the independence of Padania, geographical region that includes an “upper Padania” (Piedmontese), an “inferior Padania” (Lombard-Venetian) and an Emilian one. The request for independence was not followed up, but even today the demands continue to be carried forward by part of the party Alloy.
Also the Veneto has claims of independence: in 2014 a consultative referendum on independence was approved by the Venetian Regional Council but was declared inadmissible by the Constitutional Court. In 2017, a second referendum was called where a greater autonomy in specific sectors such as education, cultural heritage, environment. The most famous parties for the cause of Venetian independence are the Liga Veneta Repubblica and the Alloy.
There Sardinia it lives within itself autonomist and independentist impulses, perhaps also due to the particularity of the island, under the Spanish rule for almost four centuries. THE’Sardu independence promotes the self-determination of Sardinia as a land and a people: it was precisely between the 60s and 70s, in conjunction with the decolonization process, that separatist movements and pressures began to arise on the island. Currently the autonomist push in the region is being carried forward by Sardinian Action Partyborn in 1921whose progressive and socialist component merged into the party of Rossomori. Added to these are the parties Independence Republic of Sardinia, ProgRes (Republic of Sardinia Project) e In Innàntis.
THE’South Tyrol it is another Italian territory that has strong secessionist tendencies within it. The South Tyrol in fact he would like to break away from Italy. The Süd Tiroler Freiheit (STF) party wants to be annexed to Austria and doubled its seats in the last local elections in October 2023. The peculiarity of Alto Adige also derives from three groups main ones present within it: the minority Italianthat German and that Ladin.
