经济危机使欧洲多国闹"分家"

 Scotland already has its own parliament in Edinburgh. The ruling Scottish National Party wants to break away entirely¹ from the United Kingdom.

First Minister Alex Salmond has secured a referendum on Scotland’s future - to be held in 2014.

“I believe we’ll win it by setting out a positive vision for a better future for our country, both economically and crucially also socially,” said Salmond.

Salmond said an independent Scotland would rely on an energy economy, becoming the "Saudi Arabia of renewable energy."

But David Maddox, London correspondent for the Scotsman newspaper, said that's debatable.

"The problem with North Sea oil and gas is that the amount of tax collected is extremely volatile². So you can’t really judge your future revenues on it. And also it’s probably only got 30 years left,” said Maddox.

The referendum will be held on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, when Scottish forces routed the English army. But polls show just 30 percent of Scots support independence.

“The argument the SNP used was to have Scotland as an independent country within the European Union. Their view was that they’d eventually join the euro. Now because of what’s happened with the euro, nobody really wants to join the euro at all,” said Maddox.

The Scottish referendum has helped to energize³ independence movements elsewhere, like in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Madrid has blocked a referendum - but more than half of Catalans say they want to break away.

“We need a date, too, for our referendum. The sooner the better,” said Barcelona resident Ramon Mora.

In Belgium, the separatist New Flemish Alliance won several local elections this month. Voters say it’s about the economy.

“It could be the end of Belgium, yes, it’s always possible. In my opinion, things cannot go on any longer like this with the French-speaking southern part of Belgium. It costs us a lot of money,” said Antwerp resident Francois Verswjvel.

James Ker-Lindsay of the London School of Economics said that in many cases the economic crisis has fueled long-existing grievances⁴ and independence movements.

“But in terms of viability⁵, to my mind absolutely no question at all, an independent Scotland, an independent Flanders and an independent Catalonia are quite clearly viable⁶ entities,” said Ker-Lindsay.

Ker-Lindsay fears the wave of separatism could reach more volatile regions like the Balkans.

“What happens if you then start talking about Republika Srpska in Bosnia for example, northern Kosovo, problems in Macedonia? These are areas where there is a lot of concern about it,” said Ker-Lindsay.

Pro-independence parties across Europe will be watching the Scottish referendum closely to see if this is the birth of Europe’s newest nation-state.

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

4 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。