Elected and Accountable Council Act, 2020
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I think that we could make this work for everyone involved. I do agree with Councillor Greene that perhaps it would be unwise to invite people who cannot convey the will of both the people and the national government. I do not think Councillors should be that removed from public policy of their homeland. Imagine if, for example, Francois Fillon had won the Gaulois election and I would still be Councillor?? I would heavily consider leaving my post as I would not be reflecting the will of the Gaulois people as demonstrated by their vote in the general election.
Perhaps we could, then, mandate that a councillor election occur at a set time OR one month after a national election?
Marion Rousselot
Councillor for the Kingdom of Gallorum
Deputy Speaker -
"I mean, nothing stops member states from mandating or fixing their councillor elections on dates which are one month after their national elections. Remember, the proposal only requires that member states have a councillor election at least every 4 years, but they may do so at their own discretion. With that said, the proposal officially encourages to either hold the election simultaneously with national elections or during the official European Council Election Period.
"We can amend the proposal to encourage what you suggest Councillor Rousselot, rather than encourage holding national and councillor elections simultaneously. I therefore propose the following amendment..."
Amendment II
Section II
IV. It is encouraged that member states elect their Councillor one month after they electeither during the same time period in which members oftheir national legislaturesare elected, or they elect their Councillor during the official European Council Election period. -
I would be inclined to agree with Councillor Firoux that the EU had serious transparency, accountability, and legitimacy problems in years past. However, I disagree that the European Council is still this mysterious chamber of elites that isn't accessible to the public. Maybe with 910's level of technology, but in 920 we have an unprecedented ability to keep our people informed and engaged in our governing institutions. The Duxburian government has DirectLink, where you can live chat with government officials and representatives or their teams. They can also host AMAs or broadcast news updates, live update physical informational bulletins, or send out mobile push notifications and email blasts. Legislative/judicial/council proceedings from Channels 3-5 can be streamed for free on the internet. We have our Channel 8-9 mixed reality/news documentary shows like The Councillor which are both fun and educational windows into what it's really like to be a European councillor (or member of other bodies). There's one super intriguing show called 101 to Win that really gets into what it takes to pass the latest bills in the Sovereign Assembly, the hearts and minds of it. None of these things count against any provider's data limits. We didn't have any of this in Acwellan Devoy's era, so it may have been difficult to stay informed. Now, I'm memed daily (and many of you are, too). It's safe to say the average Duxburian is very familiar with what the Council is, what it does, and what it could do.
However, none of that progress in transparency and engagement is dependent on election to an office - it's about the effort you put into communication and outreach. There were people like Ria Levion who weren't being reached and pointed out that what we were doing just plain sucked. The Duxburian government listened and made major adjustments. It didn't take elections to change the meta, it took a willingness to improve communication and outreach. You can elect someone and still have them fail to listen to you, fail to keep you informed, fail to connect with you. You can appoint someone and have them be super into how to better represent you, including changing their views as they receive feedback. It's nice to empower the people to make the choice themselves, but democracy itself does not automatically guarantee a positive outcome, nor does lack of it guarantee a negative one. The method of how they come to power isn't the real issue here.
Historically-speaking, one of the main issues the Duxburian Union has had in the Council is arguably unnecessary erosion of cultural sovereignty. Little things like forcing us to observe "months" or arbitrary ages like 16 or arbitrary term lengths like 4 years, that don't mesh with how our civilization is setup, are grating to the Duxburian psyche. Some surrender of cultural sovereignty is necessary to make a union work, but arbitrary things should be avoided if possible and haven't been. Electing councillors is not going to fix that. If a councillor is truly concerned with big countries walking out of the EU, they could start by listening instead of running roughshod over our cultures for no actual reason. It gets to the point where I spend more time examining what stupid sacrifices we have to make over the merits of the bill themselves. I then have to take debates off on tangents about how 16 year olds aren't minor children and everyone's thinking "shut up you know what a month is, get over it". A lot of people are sitting at home watching this wondering why we can't at least keep our method of selecting a councillor among all the things we've lost. Is it narrow? Sure. Is it directly democratic? Nope. But, it's ours.
Of course, I say this representing one of the backer countries that forced legal weed upon the EU. We certainly aren't perfect and haven't listened to other countries' concerns at times, but making mistakes is part of the learning process as we try to make a better union. Again, we need to have standards and give some things up for smooth operational sake. However, the Duxburian government believes it gives too many things up that don't need to be surrendered and aren't actual parts of the problem. We have to remain opposed.
Wesley Greene
Councillor of the Duxburian Union -
The debate period has ended. The time for voting on AMENDMENTS has begun. Voting on amendments will begin NOW and will last until 06:30 GMT January 14th 2020.
There are TWO amendments, both proposed by myself.
Amendment I
SECTION IV
IV. Councillors which have been dismissed or recalled from their office shall be permitted to re-seek their office in the ensuing by-election with the same rights and privileges as all other Councillor candidates.
VIV. By-elections must follow the exact same procedures, rules and processes as the original election that was previously held.Amendment II
Section II
IV. It is encouraged that member states elect their Councillor one month after they electeither during the same time period in which members oftheir national legislaturesare elected, or they elect their Councillor during the official European Council Election period.Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquitsa -
On behalf of the Most Blessed State of Inquista, I vote for BOTH amendments.
Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquitsa -
On behalf of the Union of Duxburian Dominions, I vote for both amendments.
Wesley Greene
Councillor of the Duxburian Union -
On behalf of Spain, I vote FOR BOTH amendments.
Alfonso Rodríguez
Councillor of Spain -
On behalf of the Malboryan Republic, I, Ectsi Ioneli vote AGAINST both amendments.
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On behalf of the Kingdom of Gallorum, I, Marion Rousselot, vote FOR the two amendments.
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With 4 votes for and 1 vote against each amendment, BOTH amendments have PASSED. The Act has been updated accordingly.
Final voting on the legislation has begun NOW and will last until 22:30 GMT January 19th 2020.
Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquitsa -
On behalf of the Most Blessed State of Inquista, I vote FOR this Act.
Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquitsa -
On behalf of The Malboryan Republic, I, Ectsi Ioneli, vote FOR this act.
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On behalf of Spain, I vote FOR this act.
Alfonso Rodríguez
Councillor of Spain -
On behalf of the Apostolic Kingdom of Angleter, whose government appointed me to act on its behalf, I, Hrayr Cruthin, vote AGAINST this Act.
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On behalf of the Nine Dominions of Icholasen, I vote FOR this act.
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With 4 votes for and 1 vote against, this Act has PASSED.
This is an extraordinary step forward in the progress of democracy in the region. Thank you all.
Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista -
I have been instructed by the Apostolic Crown of Angleter to resign my seat on the European Council. I will not be replaced for the foreseeable future. Angleter, which stood alone against this legislation, will not comply with this legislation. Member states that seek to ECoJ us would do well to consider the extent to which Angleter's contributions underwrite the European Union budget.
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The Apostolic Crown of Angleter's strong and clear rejection of this Act has been both noted and heard. It is very regrettable that Councillor Cruthin has resigned as a consequence, and that Angleter will not have a councillor in the foreseeable future. Councillor Cruthin has made many invaluable contributions within the Council since taking office, much like many of Angleter's distinguished Councillors that preceded him. Angleteric Councillors have long been an asset to the European Union by providing sound and fair judgement during all Council debates, as well as by being very active participants in all Council procedures. Angleter's lack of presence will definitely leave the Council weaker and worse-off. I therefore extend my hand to the government of the Apostolic Crown and would like to meet with them in the coming weeks, either in Europolis or in New Birmingham, to resolve this impasse as well as other impasses.
Edward Firoux
Council Speaker and Councillor for Inquista
The Kingdom of Spain