John Oliver for Internal Affairs - An Olive Branch for Europe
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LAUNCH EVENT IN HAVIC VAYINAOD
"Good morning everyone, I stand here today not with fancy music, or fancy boats, planes, and other things, but I stand here as a man humbled by my mistakes. I will not make these mistakes again, which is why I will not refer to any of my opponents with insults, or degrading references. They are men that I hope are doing what they feel is right for Europe, and I wish them the best of luck.
I condemn violence in every form, and I know that may sound somewhat ironic coming from me, but violence is no solution to righting a wrong. Violence also stems from words, I would know, People referring to others as destroyers of the EU, is terrible and not the kind of candidates we should be. I am going to make this a campaign about my ideals and why they are the best things forward for the EU, not my opponents and their inability to overcome their differences.
For starters, I want to commend Commissioner Juncker on getting member-states back on European stage with his heads of government meeting, but it shows a gross disconnect between the EU and member-states. There needs to be a line of communication, and elected Councillors who interests are rightfully the people should not be that line. I believe the solution is simply, we don't need a massive parliament or anything like that, what we should do is give every nation two votes in the Council. One vote will be from a government appointed representative, and one from a directly elected Councillor. If a nation wants to make that the same person, they can, but the option should be there for governments themselves also to be represented. This ensures an effective council that is still streamlined, and not competing for influence.
Moving with that, I want to reform the justice system the EU employs, and make it more concrete. We need a European Prosecution staff, such a staff should be independently confirmed by the Council and should be the only ones bringing cases against member-states. What kind of Europe are we when nations are suing others over violations of European law? That is not the job of one nation to act as the police over the others. If the EU wishes to make laws, it should enforce them itself rather than through vigilante justice. I also want to bring about a discussion about reforming the ECoJ, make it so that the Chief Justice is elected only, and every nation has a justice. Then if there us a case, any nations with conflict of interest will be removed from the potential pool of justices, and 2-4 additional justices can be pulled to sit on the case if they so choose.
But that idea is a discussion first, a discussion with member-states over how they want this Union to function. Its obvious theres big nations who do not want a federalist EU filled with universal education standards, I know as a Vard that my nation knows whats best for my kids, and the same goes for a Duxburian I imagine as well. There is no such thing as a catch-all solution for European projects, and there is no way to make massive projects like that affordable.
The EU should be for cooperation, not for indpendent actions of member-states. I can not support giving the EU the ability to handle troves of citizen data, if this region couldn't agree to Europol 7 years ago, how can it agree now to handing over the keys to the digital kingdom to the DU. Nor do we need physical infrastrucutre, when theres already been decades of work. There's already ferry routes, train routes etc. What we should do is get the EU ball rolling on working with member-states to harmonize somethings, like signage or maritime control regulations. Make it easier to use the things we have, than make entirely new things. That's the pragmatic cost effective method.
I think based on the recent EU budget proposals, we can look into lowering the budget requirement to .06% of a member-state's total GDP. This will leave breathing room for the future, but keep as much money nationally as the region can afford. We should treat all member-state's equally when it comes to budget financing, and if a member-state needs more help due to internal pressures, as Internal Affairs commissioner I will find ways to get investment, and support to a nation to the best my ability.
These are just some of the many ideas I've had after hearing the candidates thus far, and it is only the beginning. If someone has a legitimate problem, but a lackluster solution I will be there to offer what I feel is best for Europe. This campaign season is already turning into the worst days of the previous election, Europe deserves peace of mind. It deserves flat out peace.
I am here before you to extend an olive branch after pushing myself to the wrong side of history, I am here to extend an olive branch to Europe, to every citizen, and to my opponents as well. Let's make a promise not to talk about each other other than a positive light, we can disagree on ideas but we should not disagree on what should make us decent human beings.
Let's get to work everyone. Europe deserves to be great again!
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THE PURPOSE OF UNION - VERINGTON, DUXBURIAN UNION
"It's been a few days since the start of my campaign, and I've come here in person to the Duxburian Union since I feel its important that I outline something that's been lost in some of the candidates. The purpose of our union, something that Duxburians can remember from over a decade ago. Our union is here to make our collective wills as nations far stronger than they would be individually, but it is not to overtake the purpose of why nations exist.
The European Union is not a nation, but some of these candidates are treating as such, some candidates are even treating as if it is your local government. A good Europe is one you don't notice in your day to day life, a good Europe should be there to set the rules for governments to play around in, and set the table for governments to play on. Europe should not be moving the game pieces.
It shouldn't be a shock then, that those candidates who seek to make Europe the new power player in your life, are the ones driving partisanship across the region. The last time that regional politics were quite as nasty was maybe in 2012, but it certainly never reached the levels of toxicity we see now. I blame that personally on some the candidates trying to overvalue the Eurogroups. I doubt most Europeans care if a politician is EPA, ELDR, MEGA, PEL, etc. Why? Because these groups don't have a day to day impact on your lives compared to your local political organisations, and they should not have an impact. That's what I am afraid is happening to Europe, politicization through these Eurogroups who then treat themselves as if they are parties with
Stating which countries should have nuclear weapons, that's a Europe project. Making some region-wide 5G infrastructure, meaning your personal data is at risk to either control from other countries or some inefficient European bureaucracy should not be a European project. Declaring that safe drinking water is a human right, that's a European ideal. Making some EU-branded transportation network, with a budget not designed to handle massive transportation infrastructure, that really isn't a European project. Neither is universal standards for education, I would not want my kids to learn Duxburian history as a requirement to complete Vardic high school as much as I wouldn't expect any of you to want to know Vardic history.
Sometimes, we try to make a Europe project happen, and it doesn't go over well. For example the Commission spent years trying to get involved in Dromund Kaas, when the Coalition of the Willing almost always said no aside from specific partners such as Gallorum or Pax Aurea. The commission tried, and historically failed, and failing is okay for the right intentions. They didn't waste billions of Euros on their failure like some of the proposed projects would. One of my opponents condemned the EPA for not going to help refugees there, and I say to that....why would they do that? I'm glad the EPA spent time on more worthy projects of their time rather than another failure of getting involved in Dromund Kaas. The Kaasian Crisis is example of something that is a European event being handled perfectly fine by individual member-states on their own without European involvement.
I am not going to promise you a better life, that is not my job as a potential European Commissioner...I am not going to promise fancy internet speeds, fancy trains, or other bloated projects. I am going to promise you that I will keep member-states in line, following the same rules as everyone else, and ensure that Europe works towards tangible goals.
I am going to make sure the EU can pick its own fights in court if thats needed,I am going to make sure more of your nation's money stays at home before Europe gets it by lowering contributions for everyone across the board. I will ensure that we will work to not regulate Europe, but harmonise it such as the work done in the EAA, and the work that should be done in the ESA but is not. I am here for a realistic Europe, and an efficient Union in the background of your lives.
My dream and goal is for you to never think about what the Union does in your day to day life, you shouldn't curse out your internet connection dropping, or some EU ran train being late. No Europe should be working in the background.
To my well intention opponents with all these grand ideas, I say that you should go run for local office in your nations...there you will make the difference you want, but I don't think you will make that difference at the European level and it is not what Europe needs.
If elected I will work for what Europe needs, and Europe needs definitions on how to handle coups, revolutions, and civil wars with definitions and a proper set of regulations to guide it in trying times. Europe needs to include governments back in the conversation instead of dictating to them what to do. Europe needs to extend its protections of patents into copyrights, and update patents to reflect the ever changing landscape of the software development world, as well as work in genetics.
I am not here to be a superstar. I am not here to be a celebrity poltician like the rest of them. I am here to get to work...working to Make Europe Great Again.
