Commission

Councillor van Allen, if you want to go and "fix" internal situations, go ahead, nobody is stopping you. Please go ahead and do it. I'm not sure why legislating on external security or "unified security" is such a preposterous thing. Both things can be done at the same time. Both are important.

Commissioner Reynels already very politely explained that the volunteer forces aren't being held hostage by the Eurocorps Commander. They can of course be withdrawn.

If the volunteer forces don't have equipment, then they obviously shouldn't join the Eurocorps in the first place, because they're simply not equipped enough to fight, and they're also actually endangering the Eurocorps itself by becoming an unnecessary burden. There's a reason why we wouldn't, say, be asking farmers to join the Eurocorps. I doubt the Eurocorps would want them in the first place. This is such a silly argument. If a member state doesn't have properly armed and equipped forces to contribute, then they simply shouldn't contribute. The Eurocrops is fully voluntary for a reason. However, as I mentioned earlier, I support the idea of supplying the Eurocorps with enough money so that they can procure equipment for themselves, so this wouldn't even be an issue.

To your second last point, Councillor van Allen, the legislation states that each unit will be headed by a national of their member state of origin - it almost certainly has to be someone chosen by their state's government, otherwise who else would they be volunteering in the first place - that is of a certain military rank that is deemed acceptable by the Eurocorps Commander.

As for your last point, it is not up to us to decide how to structure the Eurocorps, that is for them to decide. We seriously don't need to be carving into legislation the roles and responsibilities of each member, which would result in absolute chaos, as the Eurocorps Commander couldn't delegate anything new nor be flexible in their management during a time of chaos and conflict, and they would need to go through an at least a 6-day legislative process of amending this act every single time they amend or create new roles. What a horrific nightmare that would be, and what an absolute detriment that would be to the Eurocorps and its effectiveness.

Also, it's funny how you mentioned something being undemocratic. In order to be part of the European Council, you need to be an democratically elected member. Since Mr. Hufton passed away after the Elected and Accountable Council Act was enacted, and you came to power through legal succession and not a national election, you are not even a valid Council member. So, security, please take this man to the public gallery. You will be barred from this discussion. You can can join future Council proceedings once you have been elected in a way that satisfies the Elected and Accountable Council Act.

Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor of Inquista

These are great amendments. They've remedied my nit-picky concerns and they will have my full support. I thank the Councillor for writing them.

Furthermore, as the Speaker of the European Council, I also want to offer my belated congratulations to Councillor Evergreen on his election as Councillor. I want to commend the Councillor's eagerness to legislate and his willingness to immediately become active member of our Council, and I commend him for legislating on such an important issue.

Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista

Marnoua's Football Association is accepted. (OCC: They've confirmed through Discord)

Speaker Firoux nodded and gestured for Commissioner Antoni Reynels to speak.

"You raise valid concerns, Councillor Plessis, especially in regard to your second question, which would be worth discussing in-depth.

As for the first question, there is nothing in this legislation which states or prevents member states from withdrawing their voluntary forces from the Eurocorps. It merely states that the operations and administration of the Eurocorps shall be overseen by the Eurocorps Commander. If member states withdraw their voluntary forces from the Eurocorps, then, well, they're just simply no longer part of the Eurocorps. It's also worth noting that while the Eurocorps operations are overseen by the Eurocorps Commander, each Eurocorps unit is individually commanded by a national of their member state of origin.

As for your second question, this is probably something that requires addressing and robust Council discussion. Typically, as is the case with the European Relief Force and with most peacekeeping norms, it is expected that forces supply themselves. So, yes, the member state would need to provide transportation. To be clear, the legislation states that volunteer units need to be contributed by the member states, and they're presumably functioning, already put-together military units. By volunteers, it is not meant that individual people are independently and voluntarily signing up to join the organization. They're functioning military units volunteered by a state. If the member state cannot provide vessels or planes for the transportation of these units, then they're simply not prepared nor have much business being part of the Eurocorps anyway, but that's something for the Eurocrops Commander to decide.

However, it's probably worth mentioning and clarifying in the legislation how the organization ought to be equipped. It might also be worth having the European Union fund the Eurocorps generously enough so that member states won't have to equip the units themselves, and that the Eurocorps has enough funding on its own to procure equipment. It would be beneficial for the Eurocorps to not only have standardized quipment, but also high quality equipment. This will be costly, but it is something for the Council to decide, not me."

Commissioner Reynels seated himself as Speaker Firoux rose to address the council.

"Having a well-equipped Eurocorps would be costly, and would likely take up quite a large proportion of the European budget, but if there's one bill that is actually worth footing, then it will be this one. Inquista is the largest contributor of the European budget, and we believe it is in our best interest to see the Eurocorps well-funded. Having the Eurocorps equip itself would hopefully remedy some of the concerns that
Councillor Plessis rightfully brought up. I will propose an amendment on that matter, but I would like to first hear what my fellow colleagues have to say about this."

Debate on this legislation begins NOW and will last until 22:00 GMT May 30th, 2020.

I wholeheartedly support this Act, and agree with the premise that conversion therapy is both torturous and abusive. I am proud to say that conversion therapy was recently banned in Inquista, and I believe that this ban should be extended across Europe on the basis that torture has already been outlawed across the EU in our Constitution, which should include conversion therapy practices.

With that said, I have a few nit-picky things to say. Formatting wise, I'd appreciate it if Section II, Clause I was properly numerated and if the the second sentence ended with a period.

Section III, Clause I and IV also seem somewhat inconsistent with one another. I suppose what this Act is trying to say, is that the member states must close services involving conversion therapy in 48 hours, but have 6 months to codify that into law? As I mentioned earlier, torture is already illegal under our Constitution, and if we are to recognize conversion therapy as such, then it probably means it ought to illegal immediately rather than in 6 months. I think it would be preferable to just removed Section III, Clause IV altogether.

Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista

Voting technically closed at 03:30 GMT, but I will count Councillor Evergreen's vote nonetheless.

With 8 votes FOR, this motion has PASSED.

Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista

The UEFA accepts Czech Slavia into it! Welcome!

Welcome to the embassy of Spiritus.

Spiritus is a relaxed, democratic defender region with an active government, RMB, and Discord, open to nations of all kinds. You can find out more information about Spiritus through their regional portal.

@Legendus Accepted. Spiritus can find their new embassy here.

Antoni Reynels
Commissioner of Foreign Affairs

Debate on this Act starts NOW and will be open until 23:00 GMT May 29th, 2020.

Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista