European Union’s existential crisis: Catalonia could be EU’s tipping point

LAST year’s Brexit vote in the UK provoked a mixture of shock and awe in Brussels but, as soon as they had picked themselves up off their marble floors, leading EU politicians, bureaucrats and policy makers were quick to announce that the community of nations still had a glorious future, remaining strong, resolute, economically powerful and united.

This was in spite of the fact that its dysfunctional institutions and the drive towards further political as well as economic integration were among the reasons that the British people voted to leave the union.

The faultlines in the EU became noticeably evident after the financial crisis of 2008 and widened further with austerity diktats dividing the bloc into debtor and creditor nations. The refugee crisis made matters even worse as poorer nations were forced to bear the greatest burden.