Economic integration through the EU is unlikely to increase support for independence movements in European states
Journal: London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Year: 2014

Independence movements have gained prominence across Europe in recent decades, most notably in Scotland and Catalonia, but what impact does European integration have on this process? Dawn Brancati writes that integration through the EU has often been argued to raise the likelihood of separatism as it reduces the economic need to remain part of a larger free trade area such as the UK or Spain, while also giving an incentive to act as a smaller independent state in EU decision-making. She argues,