New Horizons (Spain - Fontainere Summit)
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Madrid, Spain
1st August 2022Another day began at the Spanish capital city, Madrid. As the country started another week with a heatwave, and temperatures expected to hit 39ºC, the Spanish President was counting the days to start his holidays in Lanzarote, and then visit his family, his wife's family and spending more time with his kids. However, the President had some more things left to do in his agenda: today, he would meet with one of the newest states on the EU, Fontainere, and on Wednesday, he was expected to have a meeting with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, in the Palacio de Marivent, to explain the King his conclusions of the political year.
Jesús Aguilar woke up early in the morning, had breaskfast and headed to his office, where he awaited for someone to knock the door and tell him that the Fontainerian delegation had entered the complex. Meanwhile, he was doing some 'end of the year paperwork', as well as preparing the summit he was about to have and be the host of. Fontainere was one of Spain's neighbours, and therefore it was very important to have great relationships with them.
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11:30 PM
Princess Wilhelmina VII, accompanied by Grand Ambassador Louie Rousseau would arrive at The Royal Residence of The Spanish King for the summit that will be held at 12:30. She would be seen wearing a white, yellow and red patterned double-breasted coat, resembling the colours of the flags of both nations.
She would gracefully come out of her limousine with the Grand Ambassador by her side. She'd glance at the crowd greeting her and wave her hand at them as she consider them as a great representation of the kingdom itself... Diverse, autonomous and culturally rich. After all, these are the trademarks that make Spain different from others.
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Someone knocked at the President's office door: it was his secretary, who told him his guests had just arrived and some information about them while Aguilar stood up: "we have two guests today, Jesús. First is Princess Wilhelmina VII, who is the second in line to succeed the current monarch of Fontainere. And second is Grand Ambassador Louie Rousseau, who I guess is the equivalent to their Prime Minister."
"Alright, thanks for the information", the President said, going downstairs and arriving at time and elegancy to the main door, where the press awaited for the motorcade to arrive. It did not take much for it to appear, and the guests exited the car. "Your Highness, Mr. Rousseau, welcome to Spain!", Aguilar said while he shook hands with both of them, doing a little reverence with his head to the Princess, while the press took pictures of them. Some more pictures were taken once they entered the Consejo de Ministros building and sat on the sofas of the Salón Tapiès.
Aguilar thanked the press for their work, and the photographers and cameras left the room. Once they abandoned the inside of the palace, a member of the private residence's service brought a glass of water for each of them, from which Aguilar drank a little bit, before speaking: "it is nice to have you here today. How has your journey been like? I am sorry about the weather, the interior of Spain is so hot during July and August... that is why my cabinet and I usually go on holidays. Anyway, would you like something to eat or drink, or should we start with the summit?", he asked his guests, smiling.
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'Why thank you. It is rather a lovely day, innit monsieur Aguliar. It's been a while since I have visited this magnificent country... quite an experience. About the summit...'
The conversation would be cut short by the Grand Ambassador, who gestured to the princess that there is something 'new' for her and her goals. She would excuse herself for a while and go to talk with her crew as the Ambassador kept the company with the president.
'My apologies... It was quite unexpected actually. She will be back in a short while. While waiting, why don't we head to the meeting room ahead?'
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Aguilar did not understand why the Princess left, however he was not going to ask about it. He proceeded to speak again, now only to the Grand Ambassador of Fontainere: "We are already in the meeting room, Mr. Rousseau, this is where I susually meet with all my counterparts from the European Union. There is a book with the signature of every single international personality that has been here, you will be able to sign later if you wish.
But now, I suggest we focus on the summit agenda: first off, I would like to speak and discuss trade between our nations. As you might be aware, Spain is one of the biggest economies of the European Union and as neighbours, our nations should cooperate and work together in establishing great trade links. We have lots of things to offer, and so does your nation. That is why I would like to offer you a free trade deal, with checks only being performed to avoid health outbreaks or trafficking of any kind".
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'Of course, monsieur... minimal yet effective regulations are necessary for a working free trade. For the black market and trafficking, rest assured, that our law enforcement agency will deal with these. We don't have a place for a black market, do we?'
The Princess would come back but no longer cheerful. She would become more monotoned but still bear a smile on her face.
'Sorry for the inconvenience gentlemen... it was an important matter. Hope it didn't cause any problems. So where were we... ah! yes. Free trade and taxations.'
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"Exactly: the sooner we put an end to black market, the better", said Jesús, who saw how the Princess entered the room once again after she had left for unknown reasons: "No worries, your highness. The Grand Ambassador covered you amazingly well", the Spanish President said before checking what the next topic on the agenda was.
"As neighbours, I do believe it is our duty to improve the travel current conditions between us. As you are a new state to the European Union, I would like to propose a deal through which our countries city could have a visa given on arrival instead of having to ask for it in advance. Citizens could only be in each country for 90 days throughout the entire year, unless they have a special permission or something similar. Do you agree with these terms?", the President asked. The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation had told him that to achieve a free travel deal with some nations, they had to be monitored for a while.
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"That is a fair deal. There is no way I would oppose that. Furthermore, I am looking forward to extending that in the future." said the princess with a smile on her face. It was a good start, she thought. It is always good to start off negotiations with the good ones first. But well... she did know that talks about the trait and taxations aren't inevitable.
"On the economical side, we have been developing and investing in a working bank system with maximum privacy. We'd love to have you as our guest and partner as it will be truly beneficial for all the parties involved."
The Kingdom of Spain