The dominoes are on the move

Geraint Thomas

Wales is not alone. That is the simple truth at the heart of the growing network of pro-independence movements across western Europe.

At a time when the world feels chaotic and political change can appear impossibly slow, these shared struggles are rooted in a powerful, optimistic belief: that the small, stateless nations of western Europe are on the brink of a shared democratic awakening – and that the road ahead must be travelled together.

Across the continent, from Catalunya to Flanders, from the Basque Country to Brittany, from Scotland to Veneto, a common reality binds us. We are nations with deep identities, long histories, rich cultures, and unfinished constitutional journeys. We each face different challenges, but the story is the same: our people want the right to choose their own future, yet the centralising states that govern us resist that choice at every turn.

Shared lessons, shared courage

Wales’s own modern history of political awakening has been shaped – even sparked – by the victories and sacrifices of our European friends.

It was the success of Ireland’s fight for independence that inspired the founding of Plaid Cymru in 1925. It was the courage of Scotland and Catalunya in the 2010s that ignited the grassroots surge that created YesCymru. And today, it is the determination of nations like the Basque Country – still commemorating martyrs such as Txiki and Otaegi 50 years after Franco had them executed – that reminds us how costly the struggle for self-determination can be, and how essential it is to persevere.

Across Europe, the same democratic thread runs through the stories we share, and each of those stories carries a lesson. Together they show something Wales has always known: small nations succeed not by turning inward, but by reaching outward.

The power of cooperation

History teaches us that independence rarely comes as a slow drip – it arrives in waves.

Eastern Europe saw one such wave in the 1990s, when a cascade of nations reclaimed their sovereignty within a single decade. Western Europe is quietly preparing for the next.

When one nation gains the right to decide its future, others take heart. When one movement wins recognition, another gains legitimacy. When one people uncover their confidence, neighbouring nations feel their own stir.

This is the domino effect – and it is coming.

By sharing our experiences, strategies, setbacks and victories, we move closer together toward the same horizon. This cooperation builds a network of friendship so strong that no government in Madrid, London, Paris or Rome will be able to ignore the collective democratic force rising across Europe.

Wales cannot afford to be left behind

Wales needs independence every bit as urgently as our European friends. Given our stagnant economy, deep structural underfunding, and increasingly fragile democracy – highlighted so vocally this week by members of our governing bodies both in Cardiff and London – Wales cannot afford to remain where it is. The status quo is not safety – it is slow-motion decline.

But by looking outward, as Wales always has, we rediscover our strength.

And by learning from Catalunya’s cultural resilience, from Scotland’s electoral determination, from Flanders’ constitutional clarity, from the Basque Country’s unbroken spirit, we remind ourselves that there is nothing unusual or impossible about independence. It is normal. It is achievable. It is coming.

A new platform for connection

This growing continental momentum is also shaping how movements learn from one another. As part of this cooperation, YesCymru has begun a new project alongside ICEC (International Commission for European Citizens). A pan-European newsletter – Letters from Friends – has been launched to connect the Welsh independence movement with pro-independence campaigns across Europe.

‘Letters from Friends’ is a bi-monthly collection of stories, lessons and insights that show how closely our struggles align. Recent examples include:

In Euskal Herria (The Basque Country), 5,000 people marched in Iruñea to honour their fallen heroes and demand independence under the banner “Askatasunaren Haizea” – the Wind of Freedom.

In Flanders, Belgium’s political paralysis deepens, revealing a state nearing the limits of viability and accelerating the case for full sovereignty.

In Brittany, momentum is rising to secure devolved rights equal to those of Wales and Scotland – a movement built on growing confidence and cultural revival.

These movements demonstrate that the desire for self-determination is not isolated or theoretical. It is active, lived, and accelerating.

Letters from Friends is a promise that we will support each other, inspire each other, and celebrate each other’s victories. Because when Europe’s stateless nations work together, we bring each of our independence days closer than ever.

The next wave of European freedom is rising, and Wales will be part of it.

Geraint Thomas is Wales’s spokesperson for ICEC, the International Commission for European Citizens, an international network promoting self-determination, independence, and peaceful democratic processes for stateless nations across Europe. You can read the first edition of ‘Letters from Friends’ here https://www.yes.cymru/icec