Europe’s unification movements range from Irish unity to the Russia-Belarus Union State

Key points

• Irish unity has a formal democratic pathway
• Russia and Belarus already share a Union State
• Other movements vary widely in support and aims

Movements seeking to redraw Europe’s borders range from established constitutional projects to small nationalist campaigns, meaning the continent’s various “unification movements” differ sharply in their political support, legal status and prospects.

The map includes proposals for a united Ireland, a Russia-Belarus union, Romania and Moldova reunification, a Greater Netherlands, Iberian unity, Greater Albania, Greater Serbia, France-Belgium “Rattachism” and Enosis involving Greece and Cyprus.

But grouping them can be misleading. Some have formal political or legal foundations, while others are mainly historical ideas or are promoted by relatively limited political movements.

Irish unity has a legal route

A united Ireland is one of the clearest examples of a territorial change for which an established democratic mechanism exists.

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Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom unless a majority there votes to change its constitutional status. The agreement therefore provides a peaceful democratic route towards Irish reunification while equally protecting the right to remain in the UK unless voters decide otherwise.

If reunification took place under the agreement, the whole island would form part of the European Union because the Republic of Ireland is already an EU member.

Russia and Belarus are already formally linked

The Russia-Belarus case is different because the two countries already belong to the Union State, established by a treaty signed in December 1999 and in force since January 2000.

The arrangement has developed common programmes covering economic integration and coordination in areas including foreign and defence policy. Integration has continued, with the two governments working on hundreds of measures extending through 2026.

However, Russia and Belarus remain separate sovereign countries. Even official Russian descriptions of the Union State say the integration process preserves the sovereignty of both states.

Other movements are much less straightforward

The remaining ideas on the map should not be interpreted as equally active or likely political projects.

Greater Netherlands generally refers to proposals linking the Netherlands with Dutch-speaking Flanders. Iberianism has historically advocated closer political or cultural union between Spain and Portugal, while Rattachism refers to the idea of French-speaking Wallonia becoming part of France.

In southeastern Europe, ideas described as Greater Albania and Greater Serbia involve politically sensitive territorial claims crossing existing borders. Enosis, meaning union, is historically associated with the campaign for Cyprus to join Greece. These concepts have played very different roles at different points in European history and should not be presented as equivalent current government policies.

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The same caution applies to possible Romanian-Moldovan reunification. The two countries share close linguistic, cultural and historical ties, and reunification has supporters, but Moldova remains an independent sovereign state.