08/03/2021
Protests erupt in Duchies from Far-Leaft activists
Far left protests have erupted across the nation as arrests of far left leaders and activists continue. Hundreds more have been arrested in the last few days in what has been described as a "witch hunt" by far-left media and activists. The government however have denied this is the case statin they are only arresting those linked to terror ort supporting terror or those linked to people or organisations supporting terror. They cited they also arrest far right extremists for similar reasons but that the scale of the problem there is lower at the moment.

Protests have grown to thousands with red tunic protests in all major cities throughout the Duchies. The protests have attracted 10's of thousands with hundreds of thousands supporting the red tunic movement on social media. It is however suspected that the protest movement is being infiltrated by intelligence service DISS though this has not been confirmed nor denied by government.

08/03/2021
Sanctions on Reitzmag kick in
The first ships and planes from and to Reitzmag were denied entry to the Baltic canal and Duchian airspace today. The sanctions kicked in as the state refused to comply with conditions that it sign a treaty and agree to stop island building in the Caspian outside of its territorial waters. The move has caused businesses to reduce imports from Reitzmag also as port restrictions started applying also with extra paperwork required to import from Reitzmag to prove it was essential for business with no alternatives.

Experts predict that the Reitzmag economy could drop by 8% or more this year should Reitzmag not resolve its issues with its Caspian neighbours as Pravoslavya and North Diessan restrictions and sanctions also kicked in including airspace restrictions. Ships bound for Copala are to be allowed through as long as Copala introduces customs checks on Reitzmag border in line with the previous agreement. The government said in a statement "We have been forced to introduce these sanctions due to the arrogant selfish attitude of the Reitzmag government who have decided their pride is worth more to them than good relations with their neighbours. We have offered multiple chances to negotiate , sign agreements and get on a good footing with us and their neighbours , they have refused all reasonable attempts to negotiate. I call on them to sign the reasonable treaty proposed for the sake of their businesses and citizens , f they really care abotu their citizens rather than their pride they will sign to end this crisis. We will implement stage 2 of sanctions if there is no signing of the treaty within a month."

07/03/2021
Amended National Security Act for Safety of the Public passes House of Duchies
An ammended version of the National Security Act for Safety of the Public has passed the House of Duchies. The new act will seperate tourist and visitor databases from citizen databases.While all citizens fingerprints and update facial pictures will be kept on a databse with citizens required to visit a police station to update their photo once every 3 years and childrens photos uploaded from schools at the start of the year securely tourist and visitors will be put on a Visitors Security Check Database System upon entry but the government can only keep their photo and fingerprints past 1 month or their date of leaving if longer if they consent, those who consent will however be able to use the updated e-passport gates to be installed in airports which will require fingerprints and facial photos on file to use with all others going to queue at manned desks.The government expect most visitors who visit frequently to opt-in to the system to store their prints and photos longer. However photos would still need to be updated every 3 years in line with requirements for citizens.

All other aspects passed unchanged. The bill will now go back down to the House of Commons to be voted on again where if it passes in its ammended form it will go on to the Imperial Senate to be passed before it gets signed or not by the High Duke.

40 more politicians from The Left and 500 more members arrested as thousands flee to UoS , Czechslavia and UNSR
In more midnight raids 40 more politicians were arrested along with 500 members of The Left for links to terrorism, support of terrorism, terrorism or links to terrorism supporters or hostile foreign enemies. The police said in a statement "We have found significant evidence that The Left systematically supported terrorism and maintained links with Duchies enemies despite the illegality. We will be treating these offences with the seriousness they deserve to be treated , we have even found terrorists among the ranks of the party." The government expressed concern over the scale of the problem though some on the far left have questioned whether this is politically motivated.

Thousands have been reported to have fled to Union of Syndicates, Czechslavia and UNSR with the government condemning this. The government urged all to "come back to clear their name or face justice" in a statement the home office said "We will be seeking warrants for all those suspected of a crime who are fleeing and we condemn attempts to escape justice of the Duchies. If you haven't done anything wrong we assure you you have nothing to fear."

06/03/2021
78 The Left politicians and 200 members arrested in midnight raid for connections to and support for terrorism

78 politicians and 200 members of The Left have been arrested for connections to terrorism , support for terrorism and links with foreign hostile regimes supporting terrorism. The move comes from the police after investigations following the terror attacks in the Duchies.Those arrested include Leo McKulsky the party leader and over 7 of the senior cabinet members in the party leadership.The home office today thanked the police for their work saying "I am proud the police have worked hard to get justice for the victims of the terrible bombings and we are deeply concerned The Left seem to be infested with connections to extremism. We will be seeking a ban on the party and any of its politicians participating in politics to protect the nation. We will also look at new elections due to the amount of seats including local constituency ones that will need replacing."

The government are expected to introduce a motion to dissolve government and run elections if The Left is banned.The home office are seeking to put The Left on a list of threats to national security and terrorist or terrorist supporting organisations.The courts are to hear the case in the following weeks. Investigations into other members of The Left are ongoing.TheLeft have described the arrests and planned baning of the party as a " disgrace to democracy and a witchhunt" and warned in its words "We need to be careful the attacks are not used to crush the lefts democratic rights to be elected , participate in politics and to free speech and protest."

With all due respect Cllr.Tusk I think you are misunderstanding the two ammendments together would still require an election or confirmation vote by elected legislators. This way indirect democracy is allowed while stopping pure appointments. The way your ammendment is written we would still be forcing new nations to go EU's way or the high way like Alkharya had to. This could put off european nations from joining as they have to change the way they elect officials. The EU should not be forcing its version of democracy on a nation.

Skye Hook

Ammmendment proposal 2:

SECTION I. DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL
I. All members of the European Council, also known as Councillors, shall be directly and democratically elected or confirmed by an elected body or bodies to achieve office.These shall be held within 4 months of joining.
II. The governments of European Union member states may not appoint or dismiss their Councillor without following an official democratic process outlined in this Act. if they accomplish with the following prerequisite mentioned in this Act.

SECTION II. PREREQUISITE TO AVOID COUNCILLOR ELECTION
I. Member states willing to avert councillor elections shall have stayed in the European Union for at least 12 months.

The purpose is to give sovreignty to a nation in how they elect a councillour. What difference does it make if the election is popular vote or being elected by democratically elected members. Either way citizens have input in the selection or can punish parties if they put a bad councillour in power.

Skye Hook
Deputy Councillour for United Duchies

I'd like to propose the following ammendment:

I. Councillors from new member states may only take may only (re)take their office within the European Council after satisfying a democratic processes in which all following conditions are met:
a) An election by popular vote of the people or by a democratically elected legislature or legislatures has took place.
b) The electorate directly voted for Councillor candidates on their ballot(s);
b) Suffrage was universal and equal to all citizens that were of the legal voting age;
b) The election process was generally seen as free and fair;
c) Candidates for Councillor were able to freely nominate themselves;
d) They successfully received the most votes at the end of the official voting process.
II. New member states shall be responsible for organizing, monitoring and fulfilling their own Councillor elections. New member states shall also be allowed to freely design and implement their own democratic procedures, rules and processes for electing their Councillor as long as all conditions for choosing a successful Councillor in Clause I of this Section are met.
III. Councillor elections must be regular and must occur at least once every four years.
IV. It is encouraged that member states elect their Councillor one month after they elect their national legislatures, or they elect their Councillor during the official European Council Election period.

We need to recognise not all nations directly elect international officials or high up members of government this is them ost contentious part of EACA we can fix right now and there is still democracy since elected legislators would be the ones electing the councillour.. I quite frankly don't see why the EU should be imposing its version of democracy on member states , it tramples on national sovereignty unnecessarily.

Skye Hook Deputy councillour for United duchies