The political developments in Catalunya concerning its contested referendum and the (suspended) unilateral declaration of independence have reopened the debate on secessionism in Europe. The proposed panel aims at analysing the challenges that such movements pose both for the respective constitutional orders and the European edifice in general. López Bofill‘s paper argues that the prohibitions on the organisation of a legally binding and democratic referendum may cripple the pillars of Spanish liberal democracy. Skoutaris‘s paper shows that although the EU legal order does not recognise a universal and unilateral right of secession to regions, its position is more sophisticated than just wishing them ‘a Bon Voyage in their separatist identity‘ as JHH Weiler has suggested. Finally, Oklopcic‘s paper closely scrutinises the scripts -and the discursive strategies they engender- of constitutional change that accompany the vocabulary of popular sovereignty.