Opinion | By Rotterdam Publishing
European governments have recognised Palestinian statehood, and streets across the continent have filled with solidarity demonstrations. The principle behind that support must also apply when constitutional change challenges Britain.
Reporting credit: The Cardiff summit plans were reported by The Telegraph, according to the Firstpost account supplied for this article. The opinion and conclusions below are Rotterdam Publishing’s.
Europe’s governments should support peaceful routes to Scottish and Welsh independence and Irish reunification when those outcomes are freely chosen by the people concerned. Friendship with Britain is no justification for treating its present borders as beyond democratic challenge. A commitment to self-determination must survive the moment it becomes inconvenient for an ally.
The reported Cardiff initiative brings that test into focus. According to the supplied Firstpost account of The Telegraph’s reporting, the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to meet and demand the right to hold constitutional referendums. The meeting and declaration are described as forthcoming. They do not constitute an agreed breakup, but the demand for a democratic route to change deserves support.
The comparison with Palestine begins with a concrete record. Ireland, Norway and Spain formally recognised Palestinian statehood on 28 May 2024. These were decisions taken by sovereign governments, coordinated with one another, rather than a single recognition decision by “Europe”. Ireland explicitly argued that Israel should have no veto over Palestinian existence. These governments did not wait for Israeli approval before acting. Sources: Irish recognition announcement and foreign minister’s statement.
Solidarity also moved beyond government statements. Large demonstrations in support of Palestinians took place across European cities, including Rome, Barcelona and Madrid in October 2025. Those demonstrations expressed public demands concerning the war and Palestinian rights; they should not be portrayed as a unanimous view held by every European. But they demonstrated that solidarity can become a visible force in public life. Source: Associated Press.
The same forms of peaceful solidarity—public demonstrations, civic campaigning and diplomatic advocacy—are legitimate in support of Scottish and Welsh self-determination and Irish reunification. Support for those aspirations should not become embarrassing or unacceptable because London objects. The freedom to argue for independence deserves the same public respect as the freedom to defend a union.
This editorial favours independence where a population freely chooses it. It favours governments preparing to recognise and cooperate with the resulting states through appropriate processes. It rejects the idea that preserving an ally’s territory is automatically more important than allowing the people concerned to determine their future. A union should earn its continuation through consent.
The legal routes are different. Recognising Palestine does not automatically establish a legal right to unilateral secession elsewhere. Northern Ireland’s constitutional future is governed by the consent framework of the Good Friday Agreement; Irish reunification requires the relevant democratic consent, North and South. Scotland and Wales have their own constitutional circumstances. The comparison is a demand for consistent political principles, not a claim that these situations are legally identical. Source: Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
That consistency must extend to Britain’s overseas territories. The UN lists the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas, as a Non-Self-Governing Territory and records the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the UK. British prestige cannot be a sufficient answer to an unresolved question of decolonisation. Peaceful negotiations deserve serious support. Sources: UN territory profile and UN decolonisation committee.
Consent still matters there. In the 2013 referendum, 99.8 per cent of those voting supported remaining a British overseas territory, a result subsequently cited before the UN committee. That did not settle the international dispute, but it rules out honestly claiming that the vote endorsed independence or transfer to Argentina. Opposition to empire cannot justify imposing a different sovereign on an unwilling population. Source: UN meeting record.
Europe’s colonial legacies deserve the same scrutiny its governments direct abroad. Criticism of Israeli government policy does not discharge the responsibility to examine European power, inherited possessions and barriers to democratic change. Ending imperialism must include confronting it at home. It cannot be a principle invoked only against other states.
That is the position Rotterdam Publishing advocates: support Palestinian self-determination, support peaceful democratic routes to Scottish and Welsh independence and Irish reunification, and confront unresolved colonial questions without exempting Britain. Protect peaceful assembly. Respect freely expressed decisions. Prepare for the possibility that independence will win.
Europe’s governments should apply at home the principles they defend abroad. Friendship with Britain should never require a veto on another people’s future.
