Internal Affairs Commissioner - Caspian Countries: Negotiation Table
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Metodi Pravoslav passed out copies of Tupac Shakur's statement on the issue for reference.
Thank you, Commissioner. I think we are all thankful that you are here to help us defuse this situation and restore some normality to our region.
My first and last concern in government is protecting the identity and sovereignty of the Pravoslaviyan people. We will never allow ourselves to become a vassal or a province of any organisation or any nation. And the Caspian is vital to our interests. Economically, environmentally, and in terms of national security.
Mr Bridges’ government has unilaterally conducted dredging on an industrial scale, with obvious environmental consequences, in the centre of the Caspian – waters that we use for fishing, shipping, and so on. It has done so for a land grab, attempting to plant its flag, literally, in the middle of the sea, across from us. That upends and threatens our geopolitical situation.
It is an insult and an aggression against our country. We were not consulted, despite the impact it would have on us. None of us round this table were. We were not told where the islands would be, or how big they are. Information about the islands is still classified. Mr Bridges just admitted he intends to use them as military bases.
It’s true that there is no European or international law stopping what Reitzmag’s government has done – perhaps there should be, perhaps there only isn’t because nobody thought this scenario would ever happen. But the thing for us is, there’s nothing stopping us around this table from reacting to Reitzmag’s provocations in a way that protects our interests and our sovereignty. And that’s what brings us here.
Mr Bridges says he doesn’t want to share the profits of these islands. We agree. We believe they must be demolished, and the natural habitat restored as much as possible. We will not legitimise what the Reitzmic government has done; we want to right the wrong. We will not recognise Reitzmic sovereignty on these islands, or anywhere more than 12 nautical miles out from its coastline.
I think Mr Key is right, however, to raise the idea of joint custodianship of the sea to make sure this never happens again. Pravoslaviya, as I’ve said, will guard its sovereignty to the death; but beyond our territorial waters – and we should all recognise each territory’s territorial waters and EEZs – we know this sea is our common heritage and our common resource. A permanent committee making sure it’s treated like that would be a good idea.
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Inge had thought long and hard about what her government's response to these islands and their apparently military occupation ought to be. Her advisors and cabinet members had told her to be assertive, to join with the Duchies and Pravoslaviya in putting up fists to what they thought was Reitzmic aggression. Inge had not agreed -- North Diessen had more pressing issues than Reitzmig dredging in the sea way, way outside Diessenian waters. However, the words of the Reitzmic representatives at the table, blatantly admitting that this was an operation with military purpose, flicked a switch in Inge's mind. The words of the Pravoslaviyan Prime Minister filled her with defensive vigour. She leaned forward, and spoke:
"Mr Bridges. What you have just admitted to is one of the most unacceptable and blatant violations of the sovereignty of all nations present at this table today. You openly admit, without shame, that Reitzmag is building military bases in the middle of international waters. I have been quiet about this entire operation for weeks, trusting your government's good faith and peaceful intentions. Tourism, fishing, yes, yes. Fine. However, during your first few minutes at this table you have shown that you are, in fact, not acting in good faith at all. Your government is expansionist, devious, and cannot be allowed to get away with what it is doing.
"I fully concur with Mr Pravoslav's words, and Mr Shakur's statement from earlier. We must insist on the total destruction and elimination of these secretive islands and the restoration of the area they were built in to its natural state. If this does not happen, and Reitzmag continues to build a military presence far outside its own territory, the Confederal Government of North Diessen will defend its interests in the region by any means necessary. We are not afraid to join together with all nations present here, and further powers in the region, including Inimicus and its Emperor, who I know to be personally distressed at Reitzmic expansion of late, to stop what Mr Bridges's government is doing. Destroy these bases, Mr Bridges. Or, put plainly, we will."
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Victoria Romanov answered last:
"The Copala City's Government hasn't got an opinion on this issue, as we think it's up to the other countries seated in this table to decide what's up with those islands, and with that I mean that if Pravoslaviya and North Diessen want to make them explode, and if the islands are on their sea's area, they can do what they want with them. We have also been informed about what the United Duchies was asking for us, but I have to make clear that independence is something we refuse to take right now, so I guess that contacting the United Duchies to see what they were doing and asking for a seat in the Caspian proposed Authority, but Reitzmag refused it. We are a neutral body on this affairs, but still, we are still being excluded from having a voice on that Authority, not to tell the Governor-General, that wasn't invited to be here, has been created by amending an International Treaty with no Nicolezian agreement, something which makes that person to have no authority at all.
And now, you will ask me why does Copala City aim a seat in the Caspian Sea Authority. I have a very simple answer for you: despite being established in Reitzmic land, our Head of State is Queen Anastasia and we are managed by Icholasen, not by Reitzmag. So I hope everybody here understands that we need that seat, because we aren't a part of Reitzmag or an independent country, but an Autonomous Territory that is Nicolezian."
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Juncker was extremely surprised to hear the purposes of the islands. He had read the webpage, but hearing this from Simon's mouth was surprising and just confirmed something: Those islands were a risk for the European Union's stability. After hearing everyone and making some notes, he decided to speak:
"Well, I have to say I'm pretty surprised and worried about these islands. At first, I thought those islands could be fine despite all the environmental damage that could have been caused if Reitzmag payed, but this is going too far. I have to agree with you that there's no European law which tells you not do it, but because we all thought there wasn't someone that would do it. Mr. Bridges, those waters aren't yours, so avoid false statements if possible and also personal attacks to any nation as this is a negotiaiton table, not a boxing ring. But we cannot forget the fact that you want to prevent anybody who you consider as a thread to enter the Caspian Sea. If Pravoslaviya wants to do joint military trainings with Leagio, and you would consider them as a thread, I assume you'd take them down, right? That simply cannot be allowed, for much someone tries to beg me about it, and Mr. Bridges, I think no one here cared about your islands until your country started to make mistakes concerning them, so please, let's not victimise our speeches because we are all grown up adults. I would prefer to be preparing the Eurorail summit right now, and I have to be here.
On the other side, the United Duchies got a point on something: We need to look at the environment and not at our profit. And as I see, 2 nations want to basically see those islands destroyed, while the Autonomous Territory doesn't have a former opinion but they want to give freedom to other nations to do what they want with the islands on their waters. Meanwhile, the United Duchies has proposed to continue with their proposed treaty, which failed, something I consider a huge mistake, because, and with lots of respect to both sides, if a negotiation has failed because of that Treaty, it's stupid to bring it up once again. But there's something we are continuing, and that's the Caspian Sea Authority. This is the European Union proposal, which I'll tell you and also draft them later along with the other EU proposals, but let's go step by step instead of starting our house from the roof:
- The Caspian Sea Authority would be formed by all the former nations in the Caspian and the Autonomous Territory of Copala City.
- Every nation or autonomous territory would get 1 vote on their assembly.
- The Caspian Sea Authority recognises 200 miles of EZZ and 12 miles of waters for each country. The Autonomous Territory of Copala City would get 12 miles of waters and a EZZ zone shall be agreed between all Caspian Nations.
- The Caspian Sea Authority is the responsible of making decisions that involve all the Caspian.
- In those 12 miles of national waters, each country will have freedom to build whatever they wish, excempting military bases or any infrastructure that could risk the Caspian stability and would need the other nations approval.
We will get to what to do with the islands later. Right now, let's focus on this. Tell em what you think about this proposal, what would you add or remove. Thank you for your attention."
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John Peter Key took in the information. It was basically almost exactly what had been proposed by the Duchies in the first place possibly even stricter in some ways. Reitzmag as far as he was concerned had messed up badly. He spoke " United Duchies is fully behind such proposal and supports the co-operation and joint custody of the Caspian. Thats all we've ever wanted and proposed."
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Victoria Romanov listened to the Commissioner proposals and she liked it. After telling the Cabinet and Amal Maxwells, the Copala City Mayor through their WhatsApp chat, she was given the green light: "Copala City accepts those terms. I would like to thank you, Mr. Juncker, for including us on the Caspian Sea Authority and we hope to see that the other nations accept the same terms, so we can move forward to the next matter."
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The refusal of the Reitzmic delegates to accept the wrongness of their actions was telling to Inge. Nevertheless, she had considered the Commissioner's proposal in earnest, and spoke:
"Commissioner, thank you for bringing this proposal to the table. I also applaud your words to Mr Bridges, who must know by now that his government has committed a gross offence to decency and international morals with the reckless actions his government has been engaging in."Your terms are fair, Commissioner, and the North Diessenian government accepts them in principle. However, this treaty itself does not eliminate the issue of the islands. The islands are, we suspect, outside even the 200-mile EEZ zone, and are therefore not in line with this treaty. They must still be destroyed, regardless of whether these terms pass. In any case, thank you for this proposal, we would be most willing to sign."
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"We agree with President Pekcan. Pravoslaviya welcomes this new initiative to stop this ever happening again, although we'd like to make clear that no development beyond the 12 mile limit can be allowed without the unanimous approval of all members of the Caspian Sea Authority. Also, we should make clear what countries can and cannot do unilaterally within their EEZ - fishing, and charging for fishing access, yes; island building, no. And any islands built within the 12 miles should have absolutely no effect on the extent of territorial waters or an EEZ. No island-hopping your way to controlling the entire sea."
"But yes, we also agree that we must also resolve the question of the islands. As President Pekcan says, they must be destroyed."
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Juncker smiled and then answered back:
"The European Commission is also for the destruction of those islands. We think it will be the best solution and we think it's the best option that could be taken. Now, I want to hear your proposals to destroy them within the law."
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The UD representitive spoke up " I propose no explosives are used and they are jointly removed by all nations with best environmental practise if they are to be removed. Working together on this could foster good will and ensure it is done properly in a way that least affects the environment. Though we maybe do humbly suggest building an air traffic control centre and some offices for the Caspian Authority on one of the islands to help with adminstration of the Caspian."
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"We agree. The islands should be dismantled in the least disruptive and most environmentally friendly manner. This will, hopefully, undo as much as possible the damage that has been done by dredging the sea and building these structures."
"That said, our position is unchanged that all the islands must be destroyed. I certainly have never heard of a problem with ATC coverage or airline safety in the Caspian, and I'm sure there are other locations where the authority could be headquartered."
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"Destruction of our properties is an act of war, that is unless the ones who will destroy it will buy our property instead. In this I can't believe you Mr. Juncker are in support of such a way. We built those islands for the benefit of everyone and not just my country itself. And I will tell you right now, if any military will move into those islands, we will not stop them from doing so unless they are doing it to harm anyone. The place can be a pitstop for your navies to get food before they continue their journey. The same goes for your air forces. What about this, we will let it be a free movement zone in our country including your military to use it. That will be for free, we will manage those islands, the profits for our own. We will not ask you to pay anything. That place can be for the benefit us all and we are here to develop it for us all. So, what do you say? By the way that also includes us building the probably largest air traffic control tower and center." said Simon calmly facing to the wall in disappointment.
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John Peter Key responded saying "It is overblown to say its an act of war to destroy an island in a controlled manner in line with a treaty. Now I see value in an ATC tower and joint functions but believe their should be no military installations and that if more or half the nations want to see the islands gone they should be gone. However if they remain they should be joint property of the council , the islands in the end were built without consultation and in contravention of diplomatic norms. Countries shouldn't be able to claim an island they build in international waters as under their control. It seems most nations around the table agree. "
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"Mr. Key I know what you want from these islands are money, but don't you think that is such a greedy move to make our property a profit vending machine from tourism even if your countries did not even contribute to building them? And if you want to destroy those islands, pay us first the total cost for the construction and destroy them." said Simon as he paused.
Then suddenly, he found a solution.
"Oh wait, I have an idea. Since we won't agree on the shit we have here, why don't we work on just moving these islands to our 200 nautical mile territorial zone? Wouldn't that be a good solution since there's still no structure built on any of the islands?" said Simon with a smile to them.
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"Mr. Bridges, if you cannot believe I'm supportive of the only solution for this problem, then welcome to the not believers club. Those islands are dangerous for the Caspian stability, as proved on the last days. If we move them to your waters, we would pollute even more than what you have, and I think everybody here, but I'm talking on behalf of the European Commission, we don't want to make the Caspian die. The destruction of those islands shall proceed with, as President Pravoslav said, the least disruptive and most environmentally friendly manner. It has also come to my attention how, suddenly, the purpose of those islands has again changed. Now, they are intended to be a massive ATC Center, a pitstop for armed forces and lots of very beautiful purposes. I might 66 years old, but I'm not stupid. We cannot change the purpose once we have lots of problems here, and what does even guarantees that the purpose won't change again? As I said, Eco-friendly destruction of those islands it's the only suitable solution to the conflict, but I'm proposing something for you all: We should agree to debate that on the Caspian Assembly, with no European interference. I still trust on the enforcement of this agreement, and I hope that we can all agree in what I think it would be fairer: to let Caspain countries choose the islands' future without any interference."
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"Mr. Juncker, how will it cause pollution by loading the sand from that place to a barge and then transferring them to what should have been the location of phase 2? What these people here just want is control and waste our money. They will not have a say on the future of these islands or even do whatever they want to these islands unless they pay. Only two options, pay or fuck off!" said Simon.
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"Mr. Bridges, as moderator of this table I call you to relax and use a better language in front of us all. Those expressions are not the ones that should be used in front of four Caspian countries leaders and a myself as the Internal Affairs Commissioner. I can understand your anger, I can understand your frustration and many more things, but that shall not justify those words.
Now, you have asked me a question, and I'm giving you an answer: So, you sand dredged the Caspian sea, which polluted it. If we now load the sand again, we will pollute again, cause you can load it over land, but not on the water, so you would need to sand dredg the same place again to load the sand, and finally, you would build the islands on another zone of the Caspian, polluting just not a zone of it but 2 zones. Thinking the European Commission, which proposes a green deal instead of making the Caspian look like a landfill, would authorise that is kind of insane.
Finally, Mr. Bridges, that comments such as 'they just want to waste our money' pr ' they will not have a say on the future of these islands' aren't helping to reach an agreement. I call you to give a thought to what it has been proposed, and decide what it's better for you: no agreement or an agreement you still have the chance to ammend?"
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John Peter Key responded to Juncker " I agree that would be the best solution. The fate of the islands should be decided in the Caspian Council with either keeping them under joint custody of the islands and development to make the best out of a bad situation or removal in a green manner. The Duchies position is we don't care either way so we'd rather the other countries decide on the matter but one thing must be made clear payment for illegally built islands is a definite no no. We have taxpayers money to think of and it would be seen as an outrage to pay for islands that should not have been built there in the first place."
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"Great then, so here it is the Agreement proposal for ending this crisis. I hope all the countries and auotnomous regions here agree with it:"
Europolis Agreements for a Better Caspian
PREAMBLE
We, the Caspian Nations and the European Commissioner of Internal Affairs, wishing to achieve their aim to take the Caspian political situation to the previous peaceful and friendly one, agree on the following terms:SECTION I - THE CASPIAN SEA AUTHORITY
I. The Caspian Sea Authority would be formed by all the former nations in the Caspian and the Autonomous Territory of Copala City.
II. Every nation or autonomous territory would get 1 vote on the Caspian Council.
III. The Caspian Sea Authority recognises 200 miles of EZZ and 12 miles of waters for each country. The Autonomous Territory of Copala City would get 12 miles of waters and a EZZ zone shall be agreed between all Caspian Nations.
IV. The Caspian Sea Authority is the responsible of making decisions that involve all the Caspian.
V. Any country willing to build anything on their own territory shall tell the Caspian Sea Authority before starting the procedures to build said infrastructure.SECTION II - REITZMIC ISLANDS
I. The Caspian Sea Authority, using the Caspian Council as a democratical parliament, shall decide on what to do with the Reitzmic Islands.
II. In case no agreement is reached between nation on the Caspian Council by an absolute majority, the European Commission shall decide on what to do with said islands.
III. If destruction is chosen as the islands' future, countries involved shall use eco-friendly ways to avoid more damage being made to the Caspian Sea biosphere.
"You can now suggest to add, remove or change this draft of the Treaty. I'm iup to hearing your ideas. Thank you very much."
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"I will not agree with any of that Mr. Juncker. And since you do not want to pay, why don't we have this agreement once and for all. We will transfer those islands into our own territory to which Phase 2 of the Island Building Program was to be located in exchange for no other military vessel entering the Caspian Sea through any route possible including the Kiel Canal. The main reason we built those islands were to establish a frontline defense system protect ourselves from the hostility of the Inimicians and of course any other possible danger from those countries hostile against us which have military access to the Caspian. One of the islands that had already been done will remain while the two will be transferred. The remaining island will remain there for the purposes of a pitstop for fishermen in the area where they can do some activity, rest and, dock their boats and fishes to easily access them when they'll start fishing again. The remaining island will also feature a light house, runway, and some small air traffic control under joint control of the Caspian Authority. And for your information again, only 3 islands have been finished and the other islands were scheduled to continue being built by next year but they will be cancelled. And perhaps we should start some joint environmental laws too on the Caspian and probably I offer our strict laws as a basis for them. and maybe liberalize them a bit if you would like to do so." said Simon before pausing to drink some water and then continuing.
"Copala City, as it is an autonomous territory however will not have any vote on this matter and no EEZ will be given to them as they are not an independent nation itself. So no, you Mr. Juncker are clearly in support of their independence and I am very frustrated. Hence, I wish this meeting be conducted in a different place with a different mediator as I clearly see how Mr. Juncker never helped in any of my problems and did not defend at any time my country's interests." said Simon before sitting down angrily and looking at the other delegates fiercely.
"Before we of course stop this meeting, I'd like to say that as per the Treaty of Buckingham, I am in fact in charge as the Head of State of the said Autonomous Territories including Copala City, New Saint Regina, and New Moreland. And I do not think that as a representative of the real head of state that Copala City needs a vote on these issues." said the Governor-General before sitting down again.
The Kingdom of Spain
