This year the population of Northern Italy and Scotland expressed their views during the independence referendums. In Spain students demonstrated claiming to vote on 9 November and express for the independence of Catalonia. In the south-east of Ukraine people are fighting for the right to choose their future themselves.

Furthermore, people in German Bavaria, Czech Moravia, on the Åland Islands in Finland as well as in Belgian Flanders are motivated by ideas of independence. Such movements are strong also throughout France – in Savoy, Occitania, Corsica, Brittany and Alsace.

All these facts reveal a high degree of dissatisfaction of the population with the current status in their countries.

It should be noted that the prospects of the independent status is particularly attractive for the most successful regions of the European countries. By the way, the Spanish Catalonia is the most economically developed region of the country. Now Spain is going through a major economic crisis. Seven million Catalans are not willing to bear the burden of the whole Spain (47 million). Scotland, thanks to oil and gas fields in the North Sea also carries a huge financial burden in the budget of the United Kingdom.

At the same time, the idea of leaving the European Union is very popular in the United Kingdom itself for the same financial and economic reasons. Prime Minister David Cameron said that if the Conservative Party wins in the parliamentary election in 2015, he will do everything for the referendum on the EU membership and will recommend to citizens of the United Kingdom to vote for leaving the European Union.

In addition to economic motives the modern Ukraine is the strongest catalyst of separatism in Europe. The situation in this country increasingly scares Europe. It is quite clear for the European leaders that the loss of Crimea, and the pursuit of Luhansk and Donetsk regions for autonomy and independence are not conducive to the prosperity of the country. The more so the European fears to lose own prosperous regions are worsened by the fears to lose their mask of democracy. To ban independence referendums and demonstrations means to violate the freedom of speech, assembly, political views, etc. At the same time to allow the strengthening of separatists movements may lead to the loss of control over the economically strong regions. And if official Kiev’s mistakes are often justified by the lack of democratic maturity, the European states can’t afford such mistakes. Official authorities have to maintain "a good face on a bad game," while controlling self-determination processes.

Fortunately for the United Kingdom’s authorities, "attack" of separatism in Scotland ended without any damage to the integrity of the state. The Government of Spain can also "breathe easy" because an independence referendum in Catalonia, scheduled for November 9, won’t take place yet. But only yet. Saying that these aspirations have gone away is not true.

Referendums in Italy and Scotland once again proved the fact that the fate of a nation striving for independence depends not on the people’s desire. Today the White House and its satellite Brussels have constructed a situation when only they decide what future of this or that country will be.

The situation was completely different two decades ago. Europe and the United States welcomed the division of Yugoslavia into a number of small states. Fragmentation of European countries today is unprofitable. And, as it turns out, is not particularly advantageous for the United States and the European Union. The fact is that such newly formed countries are more difficult to manage, impose certain political decisions. Nobody knows what an independent Scotland or Catalonia will do if they come out from the UK and Spain, and therefore - from the EU. Whether would they support economic sanctions against, say, the Russian Federation? Or would they choose the economic feasibility of close cooperation with proven partners?

Obviously, modern separatism in Europe has mainly financial footing. In an economic downturn rich regions do not want to help the poor, and governments often neglect complex relationships between such parts of the countries. Apparently it is much more important for the authorities to join Washingtons political demarche that only spurs nationalist movements. In the present conditions observing the right of self-determination depends primarily on whether the alleged independence "fits" installed the US and the EU policy framework.