CATALONIA -- Catalan Vote Seen as Test for Separatists in Europe - NYTimes.com
BILBAO, Spain — On a recent drizzly morning here, Mariano Bilbao, a retired metals worker, took part in an event for the 120th anniversary of the first hoisting of the Ikurriña, the Basque flag. But with the neighboring region of Catalonia set to hold a vote this fall on whether to break from Spain, Mr. Bilbao’s thoughts were less on the past than on the future. The Ikurriña, he hopes, will eventually fly over a new Basque nation.
“Catalonia opens new possibilities, and the dream of independence is now very much alive for us,” Mr. Bilbao said.
Indeed, as the Catalan vote nears, analysts are raising alarms that it could set off a separatist spiral that would dismember Spain, as well as have a domino effect among other independence-minded European regions that should make defenders of the 28-nation European Union sit up and take note.
