Belgium's division: European (dis)Union a trend?

Another Belgium break up op-ed piece, this time from Greenway of the Boston Globe via International Herald Tribune.

Greenway hits the right note, nailing foreign discomfort and confusion with the issue:

"Americans are used to the map of Europe being redrawn, but most thought that was just for the former Communist countries of the East. Therefore headlines such as "Political Impasse May Break Up Belgium" come as a shock. We thought Western Europe, especially the little cluster of a half-dozen or so monarchies in the northwest corner, were immune to such turmoil. After all, isn't this the age of European integration? And isn't Brussels the capital of the new Europe?"

Even more interestingly, Greenway nods to the broader theme of nationalist movements in established countries, particularly Scotland, Wales and Quebec.

Since having spent more time living in Europe it has struck me how many separatist movements actually exist. In Scotland, the Scottish Nationalist Party are installed as head of the executive. In Wales, Labour was forced to form a coalition with Plaid Cymru (who aim for Welsh independence). Recently, in this London Times piece, it is even suggested that Northern Ireland may be harboring similar sentiments, given that Sinn Fein is part of the Northern Ireland administration. And of course at the other (extreme) end of the specturm, in Spain there are Basque nationalists, a movement pursued by the terrorist group ETA.

These movements are not always just hypotheticals and political curiosities.
The troubled Balkans, face the prospect of Kosovo's independence from Serbia, a movement the US and EU have agreed to recognize. Unlike the previous examples, this is not mere speculation. President Sarkozy of France has stated that "Kosovo's independence is unavoidable in the long term".

Is this just a series of coincidences, as I suspect, or could it be part of a larger trend of unwinding Nationalism? Are these genuine cultural and historic disputes which cannot be resolved, or are they merely transient reflections of a declining confidence in their national government's ability to recognize their individual identity and local needs?

Regardless, what will be the consequences of a series of international separatist movements in these 'established' Western countries? Would support of local separatists, such as the UK allowing referendums for Scottish independence, create complications in relations with countries fighting their own separatist movements: think Russia and Chechnya, Iraq and the Kurds, even Israel and Palestine.

As always, comments appreciated.