Internal Affairs Commissioner - Caspian Countries: Negotiation Table
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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.
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John Peter Key annoyed with Simon Bridges got up politely " Thank you Mr Juncker for listening to all sides and coming up with a good compromise. I am dissapointed it still seems Reitzmag wants the treaty all their way , thats unfortunate we had hoped that the Reitzmag government would come to their senses. I want to make this absolutely clear , military access to the canal and not having our allies come through it is not on the table we much like you have treaties have treaty conditions, we cannot just willy nilly change those and quite frankly the canal was built legally with our money so we get full authority on the canal. That is the difference between the canal and the islands, we cannot expect the taxpayer to pay for illegal islands, that would not be tolerated.
On Copala it is whether you like it part of the Caspian affected and much more independent. This is the Caspian negotiations therefore it has to take into account all parties. I would urge you to heed Junckers warnings, compromises need to be made, lets let the island issue be decided on the Caspian Autority. United Duchies doesn't mind either way , they could be kept under joint custody for all we care or destroyed so we wouldn't vote either way unless convinced otherwise. I also ask that from now on we keep island building to your own waters unless consulting other nations. We didn't want this mess, we honestly want good faith good relations with Reitzmag, thats why we signed a trade treaty with you and you were told at the time and in communications that we were treaty bound on the canal.On environmental issues we will present fishery options with the aim of coming up with a unified policy, we also have some strong policy ideas that have worked regarding not fishing during spawning periods and allowed vessel size and types as well as nets, we like you are committed to sustainable fisheries management and look forward to working with all parties on the issue."
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Metodi paid little attention to the negotiations as he scribbled over his copy of the draft, before passing it to his aides. A few minutes later, they returned with copies which Metodi passed around the table.
"Thank you, Commissioner. This is a good start, and I'd like to propose the following draft, which would allay our concerns:"
PREAMBLE
We, the Caspian Nations and the European Commissioner of Internal Affairs, wishing to achieve their aim to restore the Caspian political situation to its previous peaceful and friendly one, agree on the following terms:SECTION I – THE CASPIAN SEA AUTHORITY
I. The members of the Caspian Sea Authority will be the Kingdom of Reitzmag, the United Duchies, the Kingdom of Pravoslaviya, the Confederacy of North Diessen, and the Autonomous Territory of Copala City.
II. Any other sovereign state with a coastline on the Caspian Sea is entitled to become a member of the Caspian Sea Authority.
III. Every member of the Caspian Sea Authority is entitled to one vote on the Caspian Council.
IV. The Caspian Sea Authority recognises that each member is entitled to 12 miles of territorial waters from their contiguous coastline, and 200 miles of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
a. Each member has within its EEZ exclusive economic rights over the exploration and exploitation of marine resources, including, but not limited to, fisheries, mining, drilling for oil or gas, and renewable energy sources.
b. Each member may sell some or all of its economic rights in its EEZ to other entities.
c. EEZs are not part of the member’s territory, and no member has the right to construct artificial islands, or conduct any business outside their proper economic rights, in their EEZ without the unanimous prior approval of the Caspian Council.
d. The Caspian Council shall by majority vote adjudicate on any disputes between members over their maritime boundaries.
V. The Caspian Sea Authority is responsible for oversight of the non-territorial waters of the Caspian Sea.
a. The Caspian Sea Authority shall not hinder the following activities of its members in the non-territorial waters of the Caspian Sea:
i. Trade, shipping, and commerce
ii. Public transport
iii. Border security
iv. Search and rescue
v. Routine naval exercises
VI. No country may construct artificial islands beyond their territorial waters without the unanimous prior approval of the Caspian Council.SECTION II – ISLANDS
I. The islands constructed by the Kingdom of Reitzmag in the Caspian Sea beyond its territorial waters as determined in Section I, Clause IV of this agreement (hereafter, ‘the islands’) will have their future decided by the Caspian Council.
II. In the event that an absolute majority of members do not agree on what to do with the islands, the European Commission shall decide what to do.
a. In this event, the European Commission shall act in accordance with its proposal, expressed during the negotiations for this agreement, that the islands should be destroyed in an environmentally friendly manner.
III. In the event the Caspian Council votes to destroy the islands, the islands must be destroyed in an environmentally friendly manner, aimed at restoring as much as possible the biosphere before construction of the islands commenced."As you can see, I've delineated the proper role of an EEZ, to underscore our point that, no, an EEZ is not an appropriate place for artificial military bases or any form of territorial expansion. We've also named the members and opened up membership to other nations who may wish to join in future, made clear that approval for future islands must be unanimous and secured prior to commencing construction. Mr Bridges may at least be pleased to see that I've added a list of things that the Caspian Sea Authority can't ban him from doing."
"On the other hand, I've rewritten Section II to make clear that we do not recognise these islands as 'Reitzmic'. We've also, and I hope, Mr Juncker, that you understand this doesn't imply any suspicion on our part, made clear that should the ultimate decision fall to the Commission, its course of action will resemble what I think we all understand to be the Commission's position right now."
"I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on our draft. I'm sure if Mr Bridges would like assurances about his country's sovereignty over Copala City, for example, then they could perhaps be incorporated."
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"It seems clear to me, Mr Juncker, that despite all of our best efforts, we are not going to get Mr Bridges to agree to cease his nation's hostility towards its neighbours. Furthermore, his autocratic, mean-minded tendencies towards Copala City and its many residents once again show where his true heart lies: in deceit, occupation, and territorial expansion. I would also like to point out that the reasons for the building of Reitzmic islands has now suddenly changed again: they have gone from being meant solely for fishing and tourism purposes, to being used as military bases, to being used for ATC across the Caspian, to now being defensive bases against, of all nations, the Inimicians, who, for heaven's sake, aren't even on the Caspian. Everyone here must recognise that this stance has long crossed into lunacy, and is approaching, dare I say it, idiocy.
"Now, we thank you for your proposal, Mr Juncker, and our thanks too to Mr Metodi and the Pravoslaviyan team for ironing out a much improved draft. North Diessen particularly values section I-VI and all of Section II, and we wholeheartedly agree with regulations around EEZs and territorial waters. We find Mr Metodi's version signable and urge everyone at the table to co-operate."
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Juncker noted down the most standing out phrases that the Reitzmic Prime Minister said, as Metodi's proposal, which in his opinion was just what he proposed but with quite a better wording and some terms which were really good:
"Mr. Bridges, Europe is not paying for, with loads of respect, a silly project which nearly brought the Caspian Sea to a bloody war. Those islands are a threat to other Caspian countries and to the European stability as a whole, and I am not tolerating this region to become a place of war instead of peace, of rudness instead of kindness. I have seen enough rudeness from yourself today, and I don't want more now. Said that, the European Union isn't a place where you summit with other countries, you reach an agreement and then you do what you want ignoring everything that took place to save the Caspian. I hardly doubt Inimicus would attack Reitzmag without a causus belli, so please get serious and forget about all the little films you have made in your mind concerning the different EU countries and their thoughts about Reitzmag. There are no ATC problems on the Caspian, fishermen doesn't need an island to pitstop, and please stop telling us what you want us to believe while, an hour or so ago, you told us you wanted the islands for money, benefits and defence. I think we can all be a little bit silly, myself on first place of sillyness if this is a contest, but I still get to remember what you said an hour ago.
Indeed I know Reitzmag has its interests, and Copala City, Pravoslaviya, North Diessen or the United Duchies do to, but we can't stick to those interests when we are the nation which could lose people, territory and even their honour and reputation for this. Reitzmag made this crisis to appear because your country, Mr. Bridges, was the one who built the islands. You are the only responsible of meeting with me and the others here, because this could have been easily avoided if your country had some sort of diplomatic capacity! Now, you'll blame the European Commission because we are not neutral and that caracteristic stuff which I've been hearing for the last months coming for you and say we don't defend the Reitzmic interests on this treaty, but tell me, how the hell are we supposed to defend something that it's non-sensical? Did you really expect everyone to applaud the idea of building islands in the middle of the Caspian, annexing those waters with no permission? Because I wouldn't have expected it. The Kiel Canal, by the way, it's controlled by the United Duchies and they are allowed, as you would be if you had a canal, to allow however you wanted to pass. You are not in a good position to tell the others what to do, Mr. Bridges, so please stick to the point where we try to solve this problem and not to make a war up of a project which only made the Caspian zone to being seriously thread by war.
Moreover Mr. Bridges, Copala City is indeed an autonomous territory, which is not independent from you, not from Icholasen. And I want to adress the Governor-General that as per the Treaty of Buckingham modified by Reitzmag, you are the Head of State of those mentioned autonomous territories, but not according to the at the moment legal Treaty. If you didn't know, a Treaty cannot be ammended if signatory states don't agree on those terms, and as far as I know, Icholasen hasn't got a word on that, so that amendment is not valid. I won't manifest my wishes for Copala City, because that's not up to the European Commission or myself, but the Copalans, the Copalan Government hereby represented by Ms. Romanov and Reitzmag. Therefore, you adressed me as a biased mediator, something I disagree with seeing how I could have proposed harder measures if I really hated your country, which by the way I don't. But Mr. Bridges, you cannot pretend to get my help on a matter that no one in this round table or in Europe approves. I've not seen any statement, any press release in which anybody supported the islands' construction. And I won't enter on the argument about the problems, but I want you to remember about the park summit between myself and President Aguilar from Spain in this very city.
Mr. Key, I promiss this Commissioner won't compromise any of your treaties because, basically, you are not guilty or responsible of what is going on in the Caspian Sea. I want to thank Metodi for his proposed Treaty, which will be great for us and I'm willing to accept, because I consider it much better than my proposal. Ms. Pekcan, I think we share the views towards what it's happening right here. I hope to see a sort of agreement, and I'm willing to listen you all. But my cocnerns about these islands are increasing every time their purpose changes, and that make them dangerous. Thank you very much."
The Kingdom of Spain
