Catalonia Restive

There is massive support in the Catalonia region of Spain (with about 7.5 million people) to break away as an independent state within the European Union.  The region already has some autonomy.  

The Northern Spanish Basque region has also long struggled for independence or at least greater autonomy than the semi-autonomous region has today; a low level insurgency has been simmering there for decades.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe has forced the Spanish national government to impose austerity measures that have made the central government particularly unpopular in a time of great economic crisis for country.