When Catalania held a referendum on whether to break off
from the E.U. state of Spain, the E.U.’s basic law was silent on whether a
state’s region would be a new state. The Prodi Doctrine, however, states that a
region seceding from a state is automatically no longer part of the European
Union. Such a region would have to apply for statehood as if it had been
outside of the Union. I submit that such a stance is problematic.
The full essay is at "Catalania as a State in the E.U."
