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The overwhelming majority of secessionist parties/movements in EU member states pursue 'independence in Europe', aiming to create a new member state. The Catalan case shows that such a project inevitably drags the EU into the political/institutional dispute between the potentially seceding region and the member state. The stance adopted by EU institutions is extremely important because it can strengthen or undermine the feasibility (and thus the credibility) of the independentist project. The analysis of the Catalan case points to an inbuilt orientation of all EU institutions to support member states' governments in their protection of territorial integrity. This support is based on an established interpretation of the Treaties (the so-called Prodi doctrine) that rules out the possibility of 'internal enlargement', as well as on a more solid connection of EU leaders with the heads of national governments (also channelled through European party federations) than with the heads of regional governments.