Polling stations opened early on Thursday for the referendum that could sever Scotland's centuries-old ties with Britain and see it emerge as an independent nation of 5.3 million people, while the rest of the Western world observe how the votes unfold.

In Catalonia, a region in Spain that seeks its own independence through a planned referendum on November, the Spanish press is eager to seize the Scottish referendum to draw parallels between the secession campaigned for by the Catalans and the independence the Scots will be voting for on Thursday.

Like Us on Facebook

Media sympathetic to Catalan independence have drawn light to Madrid's refusal of the vote. Others have been critical of the destabilizing potential of the referendum, the Guardian reported.

Javier Tajadura, a law professor of the University of the Basque Country, wrote in a local newspaper that Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to allow the independence vote has fed the spreading secession in Europe.

It strengthens the principle of self-determination which allows 'cultural nations' to convert into independent states, Tajadura said.

Aside from Catalonia, Madrid also contends with the independence appealed for by the Basque Country, a community in northern Spain that was granted autonomy in 1978.

The Spanish Daily reported that the Scottish referendum on independence has also reawakened the separatist movement in Quebec.

Meanwhile, Germany is divided on the issue of Scottish independence. Although the Germans mainly regard the Scottish independence for its potential effects to the European Union, news outlets including Süddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel warn of its economic repercussions.

It has also prompted some to believe that the break of the union will give good reason for UK's Eurosceptics to move for the separation of Brussels, EU's de facto capital.

The German left wing has been neutral. It has, however, praised the yes campaign for shaking up Britain's complacency.

Like the United Kingdom, the United States was not particularly bothered by the issue until two weeks ago when the polls revealed a surge of pro-independence support among the Scots, according to the Guardian.

All in all, sentimentality and tones of desperation figure prominently in the American coverage of the referendum, lacing the US news with political figures pleading and begging for the Scots to stay in the union.

TagsScottish independence, Scotland referendum, Scotland independence referendum