The EU is politically and intellectually unprepared for a crisis in Spain. The European project is based on the idea that the EU is a “safe space” for liberal values. Once a country enters the club it is assumed to leave old conflicts, whether internal or external, outside the door.

The EU’s belief in the peaceful resolution of disputes is fundamental, and is underpinned by basic commitments to democracy, the rule of law and market economics. Questions of national sovereignty are also meant to lose their urgency inside the EU, where decisions are said to be made at whatever is the appropriate level — regional, national or European.

But what if all that is not true? Catalonia’s bid for independence demonstrates that traditional questions of nationhood and sovereignty can still stir the blood in modern Europe. There is also a possibility that the crisis could lead to violence between the Spanish central government and pro-independence forces in Catalonia. That would challenge Spain’s traditional status as a prime example of the benefits of the European project.