[kevinkimball]

I'm a little amazed that none of the comments in this thread mention the EU. If the Scots go for "Independence in Europe" as Salmond has said they will, surely that would be the model for Catalonia or Flanders to follow.

[anigbrowl]

One obvious reason to think otherwise is that existing EU countries can veto the entry of new members, and Spain's government is unlikely to want to encourage Catalonian dreams of freedom. Belgium is already a federation and Belgians are famous for not being very invested in a Belgian national identity so they probably wouldn't care much.