And Spain may be facing a bona fide secession crisis from Catalonia, which would likely mean a meltdown in the Spanish sovereign debt market.

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Bond markets, which have for 12 months tried to price the risk of a eurozone breakup, now have to calculate the possibility of the breakup of the Spanish state - for secession in Barcelona would surely prompt centrifugal tendencies in the Basque region, and exacerbate the fiscal crisis in the poorest regions.

BBC: Catalan leaders seek independence vote, legal or not

The crisis is a direct result of both sides' failure to make progress in negotiations over post-secession security arrangements, citizenship rules and oil revenues, among other issues that should have been resolved long ago.

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