European Heads of Government / State Meeting - Europolis, 6th July 2020
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The Nicoleizian party was so grateful for the hospitality of the Spanish delegation. Whiteford was very proud of Commissioner Juncker's event, and she marvelled at how well attended the event was. Whiteford and Poppy then left the room so that Samantha Terrace and the Spanish hosts could do their jobs as intended, after just popping in to say hello. Terrace waved at them as they left.
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Archkonsul Kristian Nylund was suspiciously optimistic about the meeting. The concept of the meeting had been floated in European Circles for years, it evolved into the European Assembly at one point which had proven a complete failure. It might have had been the chance to meet with various EU leaders since asscending to the position of Archkonsul.
Regardless, Kristian even as a career diplomat, held a certain disdain for en-mass meetings such as these. The powers of the collective might be great, but the decision making moves a pace only befitting a giant. The meeting was more than likely going to be bogged down in pointless disputes that wouldn't be solved here or minor issues. Often comparable to corralling children, one can assume Kristian's feelings on the Nyetthem Summit to resolve the initial Reitzmic crisis.
Kristian, however, was excited to meet all the commissioners again. Since the election night celebration it had been awhile since they had seen each other. Antoni, Claude, and Eilidh all campaigned with Kristian during the campaign, and they appreciated the foreigners help. For a country as judgemental as Vayinaod, foreigners, especially politicians, tend to elicit a sort of "entertainment value" in politics. Dragan Trympov is one of the most followed people on twitter in Vayinaod for that very reason. Regardless Kristian had plans with lunch with Antoni and Copala this week.
After landing in Europolis, Kristian met with Carita before the meeting to exchange notes. Carita stressed that making sure that Vayinaod should hold back as much as possible initially to test the temperature of the room. The new Korojaunu of Icholasen and Archbishop while new to Kristian weren't new to Europe. Well the Korojaunu was, but who besides Queen Anastasia, Bernie Sanders or Whiteford are known outside Icholasen.
Kristian Nylund like a lot of Vards actually did not know who Mikaela Kligenberg was until she became Archbishop, her brother Silas though was a hit in Vayinaod.
Excited to get the day going, Kristian departed for the conference anticipating to meet Commissioner Juncker and the rest of the European leaders.
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Finally, after hours, and hours...and hours...Dante Maximillian's sleek new jet touched down in Europolis. The Falcon 8X fleet was a recent acquisition from Angleter and was proving very popular for state travel. The small trijets were economical, could reach more local airports, and still offered intercontinental range for the long slog to Europolis.
Dante's aides kept him happy during the flight by indulging him with his favorite activity - gambling. Gambling, gambling, gambling, that's what he really liked to do. They spotted him online games with "hot" tables (Read: aides had to pay off the dealers to rig it so the Steward would win a lot). It was a small price to pay to keep him in a good mood. Between allegations of targeted hits on political opponents, mass protests on all manner of topics, and the continually stagnant economy, they knew his rule was failing and the kinds of bad decisions he could make in a bad mood.
Erik Drammen am Rike, the Master of State, was particularly worried about the Steward's attendance at this meeting. It wasn't a secret that Dante had great disdain for small, weak member states...nor was it a secret that he wasn't exactly the friendliest or most affable person in a room.
Erik was concerned that he would waste this opportunity to establish new connections, in a world where the country really had only one major ally remaining and no new trade deals in forever. The Steward might also be completely tone deaf to what other nations were interested in, which would lead to nothing being agreed upon. But hey, Erik wasn't invited, so...all he could do was watch from afar...and scheme...with the Steward out of the country, he gave a certain Councillor Greene a call to come home and...talk...about...things....
The plane came to a stop on the tarmac and the Steward was ready to depart. The arranged vehicles arrived as scheduled and they were off. Dante was not terribly interested to go over his talking points while on the ride, he knew exactly what he wanted and didn't want.
It wasn't long before they had arrived. 6 nervous aides got out of the cars. 1 Steward got out...in a good mood.
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Juncker shook hands with the Archkonsul Nylund and the media took some photos while Juncker said: Mr. Nylund, it's a pleasure to see you once again. I had a good time with you the last time we spent together on the EPA night election. It's great to have politicians like you in this summit. Welcome." Inmediately after, both proceeded to the meeting room, where Juncker showed Nylund his seat and then came back to the gallery.
Just when he arrived, Dante was entering the room. Juncker made a gesture to the guards pretending to tell them to make a head of government or state wait until he's back on the gallery once again, but the guards didn't understood anything he was pretending to say. Juncker thought that maybe he was too old, or the European Union's buildings guards were completely stupid. He picked the second option as the most possible. He approached to Dante and then shook hands with him: "Mr. Maximillian, I didn't expect you here. What a surprise! It's a honor to count with you on this very important summit, and also to meet you. Please, come with me." Both entered the meeting room and Juncker showed Dante his seat, and then left the room.
The Spanish President, Jesús Aguilar, approached to Nylund and shook hands with him: "Kristian, nice to see you here. I hope you've had a great travel from Vayinaod and that everything goes fine over there. We'll need to talk in private later. Is that ok?" He said. After Aguilar got an answer from Nylund, he shook hands with Dante, from the Duxburian Union. He knew that establishing relationships with the DU was like having 1,000,000 diamonds. "Mr. Maximillian, nice to meet you. I'm Jesús Aguilar, the Spanish President. It's a pleasure to see you finally attended to this summit." He said.
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Five hours after making the stubborn decision to fly to Europolis with a commercial aeroplane instead of a private jet to look more relatable to Malboryan citizens despite the warnings from everyone at the Parlamenta, Prime Minister Vincent Archambault had finally arrived at his destination. The flight actually took around two hours, the other three was wasted on autographs and photographs.
"Well... that was an experience!" Vincent thought to himself after interacting with what seemed like everyone on the aeroplane. Everything went just like it was planned, which was one of his favourite things. Councillor Evergreen picked him off at the airport, which he wasn't expecting to do.
"Don't you have... you know... special vehicles for this? It feels weird to just pick off The President off the airport. Had this been Mr Eusebiu, there would be dozens of vehicles on the road right now." Evergreen told Archambault.
"Yes. But I need no lavish, and you know it. I can still live a middle-class life while serving my duty as the president of this country." Archambault replied.
"Okay... weirdo."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, I said we've arrived!"
"Uh... the building is 500 meters away still."
"...Oh."
The more time passed, the less Evergreen was enjoying this ride. It was incredibly awkward, and the traffic of Europolis wasn't helping it either.
"...So uh... I guess I'll ride for 500 another meters then... haha..."
After finally arriving, Evergreen took a big sigh as Archambault left his car.
Vincent, however, was excited for the meeting, not even realizing that Evergreen called him a weirdo. He had everything his mind, planned like books sorted by colour on a white bookshelf.
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After a few long hours of thinking, President Wilhelm Astronovic has decided to come to the meeting in Europolis.
He got on a plane from Barclandia and went straight to Europolis to go to the Meeting. He arrived in Europolis after 10 hours of flying. He greeted the fellow citizens and went to the Meeting along with our Representative, Sharlize Theron.
As the two walked closer to the hall, they stumbled upon Prime Minister Simon Bridges of the Kingdom of Reitzmag.
"Greetings" said both at the same time.
"Prime Minister Bridges, I presume. It is an hounor to meet you," Said President Astronovic
"Same, Same. Its great to meet you" said Prime Minister Bridges.
When the 3 arrived at the meeting hall, they greeted the fellow leaders and continued their discussion awaiting the start of the meeting. -
Jean-Claude Juncker shook hands with the Malboryan Prime Minister, Vicent Archambault. "Vicent! Nice to see you are here. Welcome to this summit, which is very important for Malborya and the whole of the European Union. Please, come with me." He said. They both walked through the gallery and then entered the meeting room, in which Juncker showed Vicent his seat, and then, came back to the gallery where he saw Mr. Astronovic entering.
Jean-Claude Juncker looked at the guards wanting to tell them "What did I told you?" but only looking at them, and finally, them seemed to understood what the Internal Affairs Commissioner was pretending to say. He shook hands with Mr. Astronomic and the media proceeded to take photos of both. "Mr. Astronomic, I have to welcome you to the European Union and its capital city de facto, Europolis. Please, come with me." Juncker said. Both entered the meeting room and Juncker came back to the gallery after telling Mr. Astronomic what his seat was.
Aguilar shook hands with Mr. Archambault first. "Mr. Archambault, nice to meet you. I met with Mr. Eusebiu when we signed those agreements with your country, but I didn't meet with you. I hope the great relationship between our nations continue." He said and smiled. After a conversation with him, he saw Mr. Astronovic. At first, he didn't know much about Bargio. It was a new nation that was born next to them. He decided to approach to Wilhem. "Mr. Astronomic, nice to meet you." He shook hands with him. "I'm Jesús AGuilar, the Spanish President. Great to see you here." He said.
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Slavomíra Černá was perhaps a bit worried about meeting of the Heads of Government. Even though she worked abroad of Czech territory before becoming the chairwoman of the communist party, she now rarely left Czech Slavia. It did not help that Czech Slavia has recently attracted more publicity then it needed too by dedicating themselves to supporting the new regime in Icholasen. Yet she knew how important this meeting was to portrait Czech Slavia in a positive light to the other nations in the European Union and she was determined to be photographed with as many head of governments as possible to help this image.
The flight to Europolis was quite calm and S. Černá finally arrived to the meeting. -
Jean-Claude Juncker approached at Černá. He shook hands with her while the media took the last photos. The summit was about to start, but Slavomíra arrived on time. When the media was done, both walked to the meeting room: "Ms. Černá, it's nice to see you again. But this time, I'm the host" He laughed and they entered on the meeting room. Juncker closed the door and Aguilas shook hands with Černá. "Nice to meet you Slavomira. Great to see you've come today."
Finally, Juncker showed Slavomíra her seat and seated on his seat, between Mikaela and Jesús. He picked that small bell he used for this special days, and made it rang. The room entered on a full silence. Finally, Jean-Claude Juncker stood up and started to talk:
"Good evening everyone,
Firstly, I would like to thank you for your assistance today. We are still expecting some Heads of Government or State which are coming late, but they're expected to arrive in any moment of our summit. Secondly, I would like to refer to the Mennrimiak's decision on not attending to this summit because some of the European member-states asked the European Nuclear Authority about having nukes. I respect the decision, but I'm not sharing it. This is a very important summit, and I would have liked to see more Prime Ministers or Heads Of Government or State in this meeting.
To those that have assisted to this summit, I would like to tell you some rules I'm setting for this event. The first rule is to avoid any way of insulting, discrimination, racism to any other nation that it's here today or it isn't. Secondly, I would like everyone to respect the others' turn to speak. That is very important to guarantee thatt every idea is heard on this meeting. You could like it or dislike it, but you need to listen to every single proposal. We, the European Commissioners are a reference of respect, and I would like to see the same respect we 3 have in your atitudes during today's summit. I don't want this to become a shame, I want this to be a way of communication between the Commission and the member-states and also between the member states.
So, with that being said, I officially open this European Heads of Government or State Meeting, that it's being hosted in Europolis, the 6th July . I would now like to ask you all if you have any proposals to debate. The agenda will be told to all of you when we've heard all the proposals. Thank you."
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As Jean-Claude Juncker made his opening statement, the Grand Vizier's plane bellowed down to the airstrip. Only a split second after the airplane landed, Kazavon ran out with a papers flying out of his binder he carried.
*Kazavon chimed into the room, flushed. "My exceeding apologies for the intrusions, there were some setbacks coming here-- I hope all of you can understand."
Kazavon then sat down in mild shame like a pupil late for class.
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President Kenith of the Commonwealth of Leagio began to speak as he stood.
"My fellow leaders of the EU, i would first like to say that is an honor to not meet every here today for this discussion. I have the honor to meet the various leaders of this region. I would like to begin the discussion on the question of healthcare, particularly the protection of all the nations of Europe should a serious disease occur that transmits itself human to human very easily then we would be in trouble. According to a study done through the Leagioan Ministry of Health in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, if a major pandemic occurred within the EU and reach to Leagio, then the Commonwealth would be in serious trouble as Leagio is mainly an urban country in terms of where its population resides. Leagio does not have the industrial capacity, according to this study, to build sufficient PPE for Civil and Essential Workers to Leagio."
"Now, this study was done about 8 years ago before even my own presidency. However, while Leagio's industry is more developed since those years, the issue of preparing for a pandemic is still active. I am not sure how the other leaders of Europe feel in the same issue. But i think that the European Union should have some measure and plan to ensure that we are all ready for the worst-case scenario that we could have a serious pandemic. One that will affect all of us. I would like for the community of the European Union to develop a department that will monitor all diseases and research any new ones that appear out of nowhere, where the data that this department finds will in not only producing a remedy (whether it is a medicine or vaccine) but also give countries advice on what to do with cases of dieases or illnesses. However, i would like to hear what the other members in this meeting thinks."
President of the Commonwealth of Leagio: Kenith Lifejumper (CCP)
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As the President of Leagio finished his speech, Emryc Isla strode into the room and sat down. He nodded to the other European leaders and said "sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business," before sitting back in his chair.
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After President Lifejumper finished his speech, PM Simon Bridges stood up.
"Good day to you my fellow European Leaders. Of course, it is indeed an honor to be here in Europolis to discuss important issues and matters of varying importance. Now, to begin with, President Lifejumper has mentioned this such event that we I think have not yet been prepared due to the recent armed and diplomatic conflicts within the region."
"Reitzmag, as a leading producer of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, is well-prepared in the case of a pandemic or a disease outbreak. We are also home to 3 Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 Laboratories and can handle very strong viruses. These laboratories are coordinating with the government and may pharmaceutical companies in researching for new cures to some deadly viruses."
"And in case of a pandemic, Reitzmag is ready to supply medicine and medical equipment to all European nations. But, as per law Reitzmag may refuse to supply medication to other countries if it does not want. Such example is that being applied to Spain."
"Though, as a fellow European nation. Reitzmag is open to get back on selling necessary materials on countries which we have refused to sell to, such as Spain for example. And I hope that this would happen sooner."
"Finally, speaking of Spain and Reitzmag halting its trade with it. I request that a debate regarding this still running Reitzmo-Hispanic diplomatic crisis be includee in our agenda."
Simon Bridges
Prime Minister, Kingdom of Reitzmag -
Mikaela found herself to already be quite bored of this meeting. As the Angleteric Prime Minister made his late entrance into the room, Mikaela began to wonder why she didn't think of the ingenious idea of arriving late and skipping over all the boring topics. When the Reitzmic Prime Minister broke out in his very self-indulging and self-gratifying speech, where he patted himself and Reitzmag on the back, she began to daydream, and suddenly remembered that mercury was in retrograde. Mikaela then quickly brought out her purse, took out her phone, and reviewed her daily horoscope.
Libra: Your daily horoscope - July 06
Today you could have an intense exchange with someone. You might be inspired to stand up for your beliefs. This could be a discussion about religion. Or it could be a talk about personal morals and ethics. Don't be afraid to speak up today. The person who prompts this chat could need to be educated. Maybe you can help them to see a more enlightened viewpoint. It's time for others to open their minds! Leave your doubts in the past and look forward to a brighter future.Oh no! An intense exchange? Mikaela was hoping to avoid any confrontations in this meeting, as she really didn't like to upset anybody's feelings. However, she felt more re-assured that she should stand up for her beliefs. The sentence, "Don't be afraid to speak up today", really felt good to read. A more enlightened viewpoint? That was Mikaela's specialty. She fancies herself as a very enlightened figure, especially after that one time she actually finished a whole entire (1) audiobook, which was Justice Jane Fonda's biographical audiobook, My Life So Far (Unabridged). Justice Fonda had a lot of experiences and insight which really helped Mikaela better understand her own worldview.
Once Simon Bridges finished his spiel about Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 Laboratories, Mikaela stood up.
"Diseases and pandemics are like, totally gross! I definitely agree with President Lifejacket, and I think it's very important that we work together, to like, stop the spread of diseases and any future pandemics. Can you imagine living through a pandemic? Everything being shut down? Can you imagine? Everyone having to isolate themselves? What a scenario! I mean, living through it would be one thing, but even worse... think of the economy, and think about our ability to get haircuts! I get my hair cut and blown out at least once a week. I have this most amazing Reitzmic hairdresser, Phi Phi, who tells me the most curious things. Like, she tells me all about Reitzmag’s history and how Copala City is actually an ancient city – the oldest city in Europe, actually – and how it’s the real capital of Reitzmag. How could I ever go without Phi Phi’s wisdom and without my haircuts? I don’t think I could survive.
We definitely need to support a proposal in the European Council to create an agency, as President Lifejacket suggests, to monitor and research diseases, and to plan and create strategies to contain the spread of diseases.”
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Archambault silently observed the room as he questioned if his country was prepared in case of a pandemic. He was thinking so deeply that he forgot about Juncker repeatedly calling him "Vicent" instead of "Vincent" like it was some sort of a joke, which he was thinking about for... like, fifteen minutes? Maybe it was the Spanish accent? We may never know.
After Mikaela's typical, Inquistan style, obnoxious rant-speech (which he was massively familiar with, given that he lived in Inquista for three years for business), and Reitzmag's massive propaganda speech, he decided to stand up and give a speech:
"Obviously, we, the member states, as well as the European Union, should always be prepared for horrific situations, like an outbreak or a pandemic. Communication is key. Even though a member state can not be blamed for an outbreak itself, they can, and should, be blamed for misinformation and possibly downplaying the infectious nature of the occurring outbreak. In my opinion, a member state should always be honest about any hazardous happenings and report them as soon as possible. Another thing I want to point out is that the member states should trust science. The concern of health professionals and scientists should be taken as serious advice and should never be dismissed. I would already question a country's defences against microscopic organisms if their Ministry of Health is filled up with unqualified, corrupt rubbish. Malborya has very strict laws against this, to make sure that only people in experienced fields can take these governmental positions, which require serious work. My speech ends here... For now."
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After Archambault had finished speaking, Katrin Weber stood. "Thank you, all of you who have spoken. Eastern Haane is no stranger to severe epidemics - we have had fourteen since 1950; to be specific, outbreaks of what is called 'Haanean Hemorrhagic Fever,' which is luckily now eradicated. But I am going on a tangent.
We cannot afford to dismiss pandemics as things that come and go, things that can be gotten over with in a short amount of time. They are terrible, terrible events during which thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of people die painfully.
Imagine the following. You are peering through a little glass window in a door. You cannot open the door; it is unsafe. Through that window, you see - your child, your parents, your grandparents - who knows? You see them crying, screaming, their bodies covered in boils. Nothing can save them; they are already dead to the world.
Imagine this one hundred, one thousand, one million times greater and you will begin to see what a pandemic is like. Such things are not times for petty conflicts; they are times of unity. We must all help each other, as individuals and as the leaders of our own nations.
Even then, we must prepare. Such a thing could happen at any time. We must monitor, as many others have said, the conditions in our fellow nations; must begin to unify ourselves as to make sure we can stand together in such times.
Perhaps one of the things I can suggest is a sort of emergency plan for production, not on a nation-by-nation basis but on a regional level. While many of you may think that this is overreach, I assure you that you will regret it when a pandemic comes, for you alone will not have the productive capacity to make everything you need. We must share what surplus that we have with each other, and must plan to make sure that both sharing and surplus is maximized in such times.
That is all I have to say for now."
Katrin, exhausted, sat back down. Her speech, she knew, rambled somewhat; but she felt as though her message had gotten through.
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Juncker stood up to talk:
"Firstly I'd like to welcome the ones who have joined us a bit late. It's ok, no worries.
Gentlemen, I've asked for proposals to add into the Summit Agenda. I assume that we are going to debate about a possible pandemic, but what I pretended with this was to have as many proposals as possible in this summit and to let you make proposals about things we should add into our agenda. I ask you to please make proposals and leave the debate until we reach that point."
After that, Aguilar looked at Jean-Claude and stood up to talk:
"Good evening everyone.
I'd like to add something to this pandemic debate in which Spain would like to reveal its plans. In case of a pandemic, we would close our borders with those countries that gets cases. If we get a huge amount of cases, we would set the Estado de Alarma, a Constitutional way to stop mobility in the Kingdom of Spain. The Alarm can be set for 14 days without any vote, but then, if the Government needs an extension the Congreso de los Diputados, which is the Spanish low chamber, would need to pass the extension by an absolute majority, which means 176 seats.
That said, I would like to make my proposals for the Internal Affairs Commissioner, Jean-Claude Juncker. The proposals I've got concern my country and the European Union. These are the Spanish-Reitzmic problem, the Straits taxes and finally, this pandemic debate. We really need to get onto this and I hope not only mines, but everyone's proposals get accepted. Thank you."
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President Lifejumper stands up and turns to Commissioner Juncker slightly bows apologetically.
My apologies, Commissioner Juncker, I had forgotten to initiate a proposal in my speech. I would then would like to propose the creation of a European Union Pandemic Response Organization that would be under the Internal Affairs Commissioner with the following powers:
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Keep track of cases and other important data determined to be essential in fighting a disease that has declared to be a pandemic within the EU
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Provide advice and feedback to the other nations of the EU to fight a pandemic (Ranging from the decision to lock down to reopening)
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Initiate a call for the production of PPE equipment and other medical supplies that the Response Force deems essential with the approval of the European Council.
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Determine where any essential material need to combat the pandemic needs to go in terms of nations within the EU
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Provide contracts paid from the EU treasury to scale up production of the necessary medical equipment to fight an on-going pandemic
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Inform the EU from its own established levels of threats the existence of a pandemic
President Kenith Lifejumper of the Commonwealth of Leagio
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"I would like to also discuss the European Union's approach to Icholasen, and the consequences that should be levied against countries which defy the Council's current condemnation on the matter", Mikaela quickly added, before sitting down gain.
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One head of government smears another unapologetically by playing with people's lives - Check. Mikaela Kligenberg being sassy - Check. One country bigging itself up at the expense of others - Check. Christopher Strathclyde's Head of Government Meeting Bingo was progressing swiftly, and his note-taking was interrupted only when the room's occupants looked at him expectantly. After a moment of 'who the hell are you looking at', Strathclyde rose and spoke:
"Yes, cough, er, well, unlike what most leaders here have expressed about the nations they represent - it appears to me that every EU member state has been through worse disasters and is therefore even better and more gloriously prepared than any other, but despite this preparation they have not been able to avert the horrendous catastophes of which they now so copiously boast - Inimicus is a stranger to large-scale pandemics. We have no experience with a terrible scourse of disease, however, like other wealthy European nations, Inimicus is ready. WE are unexperienced, but not unprepared.
And, unlike what I am sorry to have to call the nonsense eminating from the, er, whatever his name is, the guy from Reitzmag - Bridges! Simon Bridges! - Inimicus will never and would never refuse to come to the aid of any other nation, even if that nation did not come to ours in our times of need. Keep your medical equipment, I say to Mr Bridges. We will have none of it, until guarantees are made that Reitzmag will distribute its stocks fairly and wherever they may be needed - including all nations represented here.
I hesitantly agree with President Lifejumper's proposal, and would welcome a European Council bill to establish a joint European pandemic response agency - although the details of this should be worked out in Council rather than here. The Inimician government would warmly support joint stocks of key medical and personal protective equipment, as well as joint research funds and the pooling of science-based advice. And all of this, mind you, without being subject to the arbitrary whims of individual governments.
Oh, before I finish - I would echo Archbishop Kligenberg's proposal to discuss the apparent wave of communist and extreme-left uprisings and the situation in Icholasen in particular. And may I also, on personal behalf of Emperor Artabanos, congratulate her on her hairdo today."
The Kingdom of Spain
