Europe should let its regions break free

We shouldn't fear a splintering of Europe into mini-states, says Matthew Lynn. We should actively encourage it.

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Veneto would be stronger standing alone
(Image credit: Credit: imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo)

Investors don't like the look of what is going on in Catalonia. Every time tensions between Madrid and Barcelona ramp up, stocks in Madrid start to slide. Banks and businesses have been bailing out, not least because an independent Catalonia won't be inside the European Union, and won't be able to keep using the euro. If the proposed new country has a serious economic plan it is keeping it to itself. So far, the Catalan secession makes Brexit look well-planned.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.