On behalf of the Federal Republic of Yosai I vote FOR Amendments I,II, IV, and VI and AGAINST Amendments III and V

Izumi Miwako
Councillor for Yosai

Debate has ended. Several amendments have been proposed, as follows:

AMENDMENT I

If a candidate runs for any Commission office unopposed, there shall be a voting procedure where all member states can vote on whether they approve or disapprove of the candidate. If the candidate fails to get a simple majority plurality approval, there shall be a special election to fill the office, with the previous candidate barred from entering.

AMENDMENT II

If a candidate runs for any Commission office unopposed, there shall be a voting procedure where all member states can vote on whether they approve or disapprove of the candidate. If the candidate fails to get a simple majority approval, there shall be a special election to fill the office with the previous candidate barred from entering.

AMENDMENT III

Section III. Election Procedures

Add the following articles clauses between articles clauses V and VI:

~*~ VI. If a candidate runs for any Commission office unopposed, there shall be a voting procedure where all member states can vote on whether they approve or disapprove of the candidate. If the candidate fails to get a simple majority approval, there shall be a special election to fill the office, with the previous candidate barred from entering.

*~ VII. The special election may not have less than two candidates.

~*~ VII. The special election shall start immediately after the previous election, following the standard commission election procedures, except for the nomination period, which shall run for an indefinite time before two candidates are nominated, in which case it shall run for seven days.

Renumber clauses VI and VII VII and VIII respectively

AMENDMENT IV

Section III. Election Procedures

If a candidate runs for any Commission office unopposed, there shall be a voting procedure where all member states can vote on whether they approve or disapprove of the candidate. If the candidate fails to get a simple majority approval, there shall be a special election to fill the office, with the previous candidate barred from entering.

The special election may not have less than two candidates.

The special election shall start immediately after the previous election, following the standard commission election procedures, except for the nomination period, which shall run for an indefinite time before two candidates are nominated, in which case it shall run for seven days.

Where the total amount of reported votes is under 80% of all participating members, a special election shall be called. A 'participating member' is here defined as one who has shown themselves to be present in discussion or engagement on this forum to a requisite extent as provided in definition by EU rules of conduct.

AMENDMENT V

If a candidate runs for any Commission office unopposed, there shall be a voting procedure during the voting period of the commission election where all member states can vote on whether they approve or disapprove of the candidate. If the candidate fails to get a simple majority approval, there shall be a special election to fill the office, with the previous candidate barred from entering.

Voting on amendments will begin NOW and continue until 23:59 GMT on 15 February 2023.

Iras Tilkanas
Council Speaker and Councillor for the Republic of Istkalen

Secretary of State Yuichi Matsuda saw his saree "Ms Sakar, please sit." He knew what the Svarna Suryan ambassador was here for. However Yosai in its current iteration is the most democratic form it has been, known as the '2nd Republic'. The Yosainese form of democracy has had its own run in's with authoritarianism and has lived though it in his youth as well as most of his generation.

"How was your journey, not to arduous I hope." He said with a polite smile.

General Secretary replied "Excellent. Now I still take it that the previous agreement made with Ms Theresa May this government as well will allow us a naval and air force base in Ireland?"

On the Subsidy Request for United Duchies Cycle Super Highway System

Voting on the Subsidy Request for United Duchies Cycle Super Highway System shall begin now. At least TWO Commissioners must vote. I, Jean-Claude Juncker, vote AGAINST this request to be granted.

Juncker gave a cup of coffee to the Speaker of the European Council and he served the drink for both of them, while listening to what Iras had to say. He then answered to what the Istkalenian Councillor said:

"I do remember that the Council has had some... remarkable incidents that have compromised not only Councillors' security, but also the personnel security. While I believe some action should be taken, we need to be very cautious about how we approach this. Mandating countries how they should elect their Councillors or telling them what conditions they should have does not seem to be very popular indeed, just look at the now repealed EACA... Maybe the Code of Conduct of the chamber should include a mandate for Councillors to undergo security checks before entering the building? I do not know if that's in place yet, but it would be a good starting point".

Jesús was really happy when he first saw Dina after arriving at Hemberdale Railway Station. He shook hands with the Sertian Councillor in the European Council, and spoke: "Ms. Dina, nice to see you! It is a great pleasure to be here for three days and to be able to visit such an amazing nation as Gadalland and Aspern. And of course, let's head to the platform and see how that shiny new train looks!"

Both the President and the Councillor headed to the platform, where the President had been informed that a joint statement between Ms. Dina and him would take place. When they arrived there, he waited for the Sertian Councillor to announce if the statement was taking place or if they were leaving that for later.

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Navy Purchases Ships From the United Kingdom

Last week, Prime Minister Lahaye announced that her government was able to secure a deal that was weeks in the making with the United Kingdom as part of a step to modernize the Leagioan Navy. The move comes part of the coalition agreement to modernize the military of the Commonwealth with new equipment and additional focuses on research such as Drone technology and hyper-sonic missiles. The government of Commonwealth in a agreement with the Starmer Government in the United Kingdom, the two countries would work together in developing a new class of frigates and destroyers as well as new drone. As part of a iniative to begin the process of modernizing the Leagioan Navy in particular, the Commonwealth purchased licenses for the following the British Class of Type 45 Destroyers and the Type 23 class Frigates.

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(A image of LNS Gopen taken as it sailed out of Port Hilson)

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(A image taken of the brand new Alberto Malillos sailing into Port Hilson)
The classes will have all the original British technology but modifications of some of the Leagioan counterparts of ASW detection and radar. The new classes will be named as according to the new ship naming conventions that President Mouri-Kudo authorized, which in this class the Type 45 Destroyers will be called the Gopen Class Destoryers and the Type 23’s are the Abel Ortiz Class Frigates. The Ministry of Defence announced that 3 of the new Gopen Class Destoryers were purchased from the shipyards of the United Kingdom (LNS Gopen, LNS Jullien, LNS Freedonia) and 5 Abel Ortiz Class Frigates were purchased as well (LNS Abel Ortiz, LNS Alberto Malillos, LNS Hyden Cole, LNS Louie Holland, and LNS Noah Valledres).

Lahaye Government Submits Bill for Nationalized Healthcare System

Prime Minister Lahaye with the support of Minister of Health - Mark Dime of the Green Party submitted a bill for a nationalized system of healthcare for the Commonwealth, where it is based on a multiple payer system of health where depending on the occupation, jobs would pay parts of it with the government of different levels of the commonwealth from Federal to local through taxes, and depending on the procedure it is paid by the patient unless it is necessary for the health and safety of the patient. The bill called the National Healthcare Act places all nurses, doctors, and medical personnel as employees of the Common government of the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the Act establishes a regulation that grants the creation of Bureau of Quality Health where it will provide price regulations. In addition, the bill would shift health insurance companies from selling insurance in general to selling benefits that would improve that would cover cosmetic surgery and other non-necessary procedures. The bill is expected to go through the Health and Social Services Committee within the House of Councilors before it goes through a official vote.

Elections called for 1st March
Svarna Surya went into sudden election overdrive today as at a rally the new National Action Party which has took in alot of members from the Party for Prosperity,Democracy and Security announced that a new election would be held for parliament under new conditions for the 1st March including for president with election nominations for president to be required to be in by the end of the 8th February with at least 100 nominations from Lokh Sabha members would be required to run in the presidential elections .President Neha Bhatavadekar announced in the rally that the election would be held under a new system with 600 list seats allocated into 8 lists by population of state and federal districts and a new 10% election threshold on each list for getting seats with 200 winners bonus list seats to the winning party by number of votes.

She also in a shock announcement announced she would be backing the presidency bid of Parineeti Begum-Bhatavadekar and only seeking to run for election as a Jan Pratinidhi in the Lok Sabha. She said in her speech "I thank this nation for their support and their overwhelming votes for me over the years and I know people believe in me . I trust people will back in a democratic decision the National Action Party and show the world they support peace, stability and democracy in Svarna Surya and their belief in this great country." The short deadline period for locking in candidates has caught opposition parties unawares with many likely going to have to put in their current lists for candidates and for the presidential election. It is expected that Gopal Gaur of the Svarnan Congress Party will not get the nominations having no Jan Pratinidhi's along with the Communist Party who have often backed their candidates leaving only Narenda Modi likely to have enough support quick enough to run for the presidency.When asked about why the elections were being held so quickly President Neha Bhatavadekar cited the need to hold democratic elections quickly in order to recieve the reparations payments under the agreement agreed with Reitzmag and the United Duchies that was negotiated under EU talks.

BREAKING - AGUILAR SACKS TRUSS AND GETS ÁLVAREZ DE TOLEDO AS REPLACEMENT

Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, new Minister for the Spanish Commonwealth Affairs, Overseas Missions and Territorial Waters

Hasta la vista, Liz Truss. That has been the most repeated message over social media this afternoon after the Palacio de la Moncloa released a statement which confirmed the former Minister for the Spanish Commonwealth Affairs, Overseas Missions and Territorial Waters had resigned "voluntarily" and that thanked her for her services, while announcing the name of her successor, another woman: Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo. She is the third person to assume the office in less than 2 years, a record that tells how many problems President Aguilar faces at finding someone that is capable enough of holding such a relevant position within the cabinet.

Aguilar, who came back a few days ago from Gadalland and Aspern, might have been tempted to dismiss Truss way sooner than he has actually done. According to close sources to the Spanish President, who is also the President of the Partido Popular, Truss' words about the possible Government reaction to a possible passage of the Navigation Act were "out of place", alongside her inappropiate interference in the European Council affairs, as she is believed to have imposed the Spanish Councillor, Donald Tusk, what he had to say. If he did not obey Truss orders, the Minister threatened him with running against him on the next Councillor election and "make some corruption scandal up to guarantee he would not be a problem". Tusk reported this to Aguilar, that told him to "continue obbeing Truss until he had enough support to dismiss her".

The new Minister, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, is a well-known figure in the Partido Popular, and also part of the conservative wing of the party, but according to a MP, she is "smarter than Truss at choosing her words both in public and private". With this new addition, Aguilar pretends to keep a hardline on the Straits policy, but without causing the scandals Truss caused during the past weeks.

Conditional Corporation Tax Cuts announced
Conditional corporation tax cuts were passed in parliament today in new tax rate plans. The tax cuts will consist of a 4% tax cut on corporation tax is firms have a profit share scheme giving at least 3% of profits to workers divided equally between workers and a 2nd tax cut of 4% if at least 25% of profits are reinvested in United Duchies factories or office infrastructure including machinery or any new construction.

The move was done to encourage reinvestment and more money to go to the workers of the companies with workers in remaining companies without profit share schemes hopefully getting a profit share scheme through the incentive programme set up by the tax cut. The revenue loss will be balanced out by taxes elsewhere in the tax code but it is aimed these will avoid raising taxes on those on middle or lower incomes.The news was welcomed by businesses who many of whom are likely to get tax breaks as they already have profit sharing schemes and who stand to benefit by getting a tax break for re-investing back into the country.The news of the new tax cut cuts the tax rate for semi-worker controlled businesses that profit share down from 15% of profit to 11% of profits with potentially companies being able to cut that down further through the reinvestment programme tax break to 7% of profits . The tax rate for cooperatives is to be set at the same rate as those of the semi-worker controlled companies under the new tax plans which will focus less on the type of business and more on how they act in terms of taxation,

"Right of Free Speech" Act elevated to full capacity

Angela Burrman

All individuals are now allowed to speak their word without any restriction or filter, the legislation has ruled. Due to this change, all free speech is now allowed, given that public order is established and hate is not spread towards a certain group of society. Race and religion remain protected; however, nationality and sexual orientation are only partially protected, holding varying regulations. This has turned out to be controversial, as the laws before protected against these two categories as well. These laws do not apply in professional settings, where the old laws remain. Reference to immigrants in a vulgar fashion had also been previously outlawed, which has now been relaxed.

Reference to the leader Maduro is allowed, but any reference to liking towards his ideology remains outlawed. Commercial places can restrict certain people from getting in without giving a reason for it, which has turned out to be the most controversial change of all. However, they cannot charge different people different prices for goods.

Disrespecting and damaging religious texts is solely allowed if it is not done in a public area, a mass gathering or a religious institution and if the religious text belongs to the person damaging it. Propagating religion is allowed; however, forcing conversions or providing compensation as a bribe to change religion is banned.

Referring to race, religion, sexual orientation and disabilities or having prejudice for these reasons is banned strictly in all educational institutions among both pupils and lecturers.

Race can always be referred to; however, it must not be accompanied by racial slurs and/or any verbal aggression.

Pay disparities on gender, race, religion and nationality are outlawed. All genders are to be treated equally. However, beliefs about genders can be propagated to any extent without causing hate among the public.

Several public programmes in educational institutions and metropolitan plazas have been initiated to spread awareness about equality and social institutions have steadily been growing.

Where will the summit be taking place? Part 1 of 3

Heard about the upcoming arrival of Mr. Aguilar to Sertia? Whether you're a fan of politics, or are endlessly in love with the Spanish leader, we've made a guide to help you follow the two leaders on their three day adventure through Sertia.

Day 1:

Drive to Hemberdale Railway station Meet with Ms. Dina while on the train to Slalium Meet Head Braetha Fornithias Cranst, inaugurate the new spaceport in Slalium Get the train to Araguas House in Esterey, home of Head Braetha Fornithias Cranst Join Mr. Cranst for a Seeing In the Masts Ceremony and traditional dinner in the evening in Esterey

Your first question might well be: when the devil did we get a railway?
Good question! Technically, about 150 years ago, when Sertia Horserail began operations. But actual trains? Not yet. In fact, our very own European Councillor and Mr. Aguilar will jointly inaugurate the rail system with its first ever train before it is to be open to the public.
Hemberdale will service all routes which were formerly Sertia Horserail, including, Esterey, Osperfey, and Uggold. It will also service Blenawen and Slalium.
Here is an earlier picture of Hemberdale horserail station:

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Hemberdale General Horserail station, 1866

Here is Hemberdale Railway station, after significant renovation:

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Railway? Sorted. What's next for these two leaders?
Well, they will be on the train for most of the day. Their first destination is the beautiful new Spanish spaceport, by the lovely seaside village of Slalium.

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Slalium from the sea, 30 January 2023

After the inauguration, Mr. Aguilar will get back on the train to the bustling town of Esterey. While Esterey is a bit inland from the sea, it boasts the largest railway station in Gadalland and Aspern, and is where you can find Araguas House, or better known as the home of our very own Head of Braetha, Fornithias Cranst.

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Esterey railway station, 1 January 2023

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Araguas House, 2 December 2023

At the end of today, the two leaders will head to Esterey Harbour, where a private Seeing in the Masts will be held. Seeing in the Masts is a traditional practice of many Sertian villages and it is a celebration of sailors coming home.

Stay tuned for part 2!

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Constitutional Court says judiciary and legislative are equal, insists that The Unitees are not allowed in politics

The landmark decision came eleven days before the reform referendum
January 30, 2023

The much-awaited verdict from the Constitutional Court of Elthize came this morning when the court determined whether the judiciary or the legislature was superior. According to the Court, the answer is clear: No branch of government has supremacy over the other.

"The Constitution of The State of Elthize sets an obvious precedent: That the three branches of government are equal, and responsible for coexistence and keeping the status quo," the decision stated, led by Chief Justice Mac Arthur. "Thus, The Parliament's blatant disregard for The Supreme Court's decision is outright unconstitutional."

The conflict between the Parliament and the Supreme Court came when the Supreme Court declared that the ban put on The Unitees was unlawful and they had the right to enter into the Elthic political process. The decision garnered significant controversy from politicians and the public, including President Greenwich Grimwald, who called the Parliament to dismiss the ruling entirely.

In the decision, the court also called out Grimwald's decision: "It is worrying for a President to send a call to dismiss any court ruling. The President does not hold this power."

However, the Constitutional Court opposed the Supreme Court's ruling on The Unitees, stating that the measures taken against The Unitees were "within the boundaries of the Constitution". Since The Constitutional Court is more powerful than The Supreme Court, this decision effectively overrules Gresham v. Elthize.

Most Elthics welcomed the decision, as the idea of unification with Leagio remains fringe and stigmatized. The decision was made eleven days before the referendum, where there is a possibility of a merger of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

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The President of the Commonwealth of Leagio hereby announces that by the authority granted to them by the Constitution of the Commonwealth and varies laws of the commonwealth that the following executive orders have been issued. These executive orders shall take effect tomorrow January 30, 2023:

Executive Order 2023-01

Authorizing the planning for the development of the Leagioan 1st Army into the state of Loors for annual combat training during the month of March.

Executive Order 2023-02

Directing the Ministry of the Interior to submit a list of recommendations to the National Congress on improving public transparency over data collection from the National Intelligence Agency.

Executive Order 2023-03

Approving and directing the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Research to hire highly qualified refugees into needed areas of national defense development for the Commonwealth.

Executive Order 2023-04

Authorizing the new naming convention for ships of the Leagioan Navy developed by the Ministry of Defense Ship Type Naming Convention Submarines Words of Province, Defense, and Liberty Patrol Ship Named After Famous Soldiers Frigate Presidents of the Commonwealth Corvette Governor-Generals of the Commonwealth Destroyer Provinces of the Commonwealth Cruiser Famous Congressman Carriers Capitals and Large Cities Auxillary Ships Rivers, Mountains, Famous Officers

Signed:
President Ran Mouri-Kudo
President of the Commonwealth of Leagio

With the Approval of the following:
Prime Minister: Marie Lahaye

Rudé právo (Newspaper of the Socialist Republican Party)

The Czechoslavonic People's Army serves as a great example for society

Since the democratization of the armed forces and law enforcement has been passed by the National Council both forces have noted positive developments. Reports conducted by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior indicate decrease of opportunism and careerism in leadership of both forces, The soldiers and policemen know from experience who to trust to be dedicated to motherland and revolution and who to elect as officers. In its functioning, both forces moved closer to the functioning of the Socialist Republican Party, as is fitting for organized and armed proletariat.

The members of the armed forces recently proved their high effectiveness with working on the successful moving of the Church of John the Baptist in Kroměříž. For this deed a raise in wages and pensions for the service members has been approved by the parliament.

Now with tensions on the rise in Europe and representatives of states openly talking about a war it is important to note that the People's Army is keeping peace for the people of Czech Slavia and is prepared to destroy all that would dare disturb this peace. May their determination and loyalty serve as an inspiration to all Czechs.

Česká tisková kancelář

Courts to be democratized

Yesterday the National Council has approved the Government's proposal to democratize the nation's judiciary by making the election of judges direct. Until now the judges have been elected indirectly by local authorities, but following the Government's evaluation of the effects of democratization of the armed forces and law enforcement, it has proposed the democratization reform of the judiciary. The judges will now be elected by all eligible voters in the sub-regions and regions they will serve. All members of the parliament from the SRP voted for the reform, while none of the opposition members of the parliament have supported it.

Former Head of State of Istkalen, Vistek Rikkalek, awarded the Order of Friendship

The President for Life Albína Reiserová has awarded the Order of Friendship to the former Head of State of Istkalen Vistek Rikkalek. According to her, this is due to his continuos efforts to deepen the relations between Czech Slavia and Istkalen during his term in office. This includes attending Czech ceremonies, seeking co-operation between rare earth metals producers, signing the Kirelesile Agreement (which the Democratic Republic of Czech Slavia signed but never ratified) or deepening cultural and education co-operation. According to polls Vistek Rikkalek used to be the second most positively perceived foreign leader by population of Czech Slavia nearing the end of his term.

The President for Life has invited Rikkalek to a ceremony to accept the award from her hands. "There will be no shellfish at the ceremony." the Leader of the Progressive Mankind remarked quickly on her way to the gym, in reference to the former Head of State's inability to consume shellfish.

The Daily Dominion

All the News You Need to Hear

Councillor-General Wesley Greene's First European Act Passes Unanimously, Greene Sees Bump in Popularity

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Councillor-General Greene's Harmonized Tariff Systems Code Act passed the European Council today by a unanimous vote of 7-0. The Act standardizes product codes for use in international trade. This popular Act was overwhelmingly supported by Customs inspectors, whose jobs may become easier and more seamless under the new system. Duxburian businesses also widely supported the Act, particularly in port cities.

The rare piece of legislation boosted Greene's approval rating from 54% to 59%. His approval ratings have mostly hovered in the 50s and 60s since appointment, but were on a gradual eroding trend recently. Greene has never dipped below 50%.

Now that Greene has succeeded in passing his first Act, some analysts believe he is primed to try another one sooner rather than later. "Success begets more success, especially when you've found wide, non-partisan support," said Petyr Alaan, a political analyst for Nemeiro. "I see this as a major leap of confidence for him on the European stage. He delayed introducing any bill for years due to youth and lack of confidence, but with that in the rear view window, he's likely to explore what's really possible."

Nemeiro polling also found that pro-European Union sentiment in Azrekko rose from 6% to 10% with the passage of the Act. While a whopping 90% of the city still opposes the EU, this is a significant trend reversal and the only positive increase there in many years.

Svarna Government cave after mass protests grow
Today the Svarnan government have caved in to the demands of pro-democracy protesters and Rahul who recently woke up and spoke out against the government and its lack of democracy. The government announced there will be new elections under a new system within 6 months with a new presidential election at the same time with all parties allowed to participate including the Communist Party. The new system will eliminate the military appointed seats consisting replacing it with a new system of 600 list seats with each state having list seats assigned to them based on population in the last census and 200 winners bonus seats for whichever party wins the most votes in an election. Expat voters will vote on on an expat vote constituency which shall be run as a seperate election under a d'hont list system.Alliances for elections shall be allowed.

The Presidential elections will be run at the same time and run on an instant run off voting system. All parties will be afforded the right to campaign freely though donations will be unlimited and parties will have to pay for advertising on media as is current practise. Media outlets will be free to back candidates or parties they wish to back.

Neha Bhatavadekar has also announced the dissolvement of the military controlled Party for Prosperity,Democracy and Security saying the party will no longer exist. She announced she would also be retiring from frontline politics. Manaara Devi-Bhatavadekar announced she would form the new party National Action Party which will run on a pro-business conservative platform that will combine this with a programme for social housing and workers rights reforms while still opposing unions. The announcment was announced with other prominent members of the PPSD and the up and coming politicians by her side such as Amar Masra-Singh, Mishri Sarkar and Jannat Singh-Bhatavadekar. Critics including Rahul have described this process as a sham to ensure the military and business elites remain in power and described the new party as the PPSD with just a new name and a changing of the guard at the top.The government is believed to be starting the process of dismantling its secret police system. The government will get 50 billion Euros of the United Duchies over 5 years including 20 billion Euros already given to a Svarna Development fund with transactions managed by account managers from The State of Elthize, The Federal Republic of Yosai and The Archrepublic of Vayinaod..

Standardisation to Harmonized Tariff System Codes Act Format
We are pleased the Harmonized Tariff System Codes Act has passed to make doing international business easier. We understand the importance of easy and quick processing of parts and products in ports to reduce the costs of shipping by increasing efficiency. Therefore we will work on setting up a government customs system working with I.T partners within 6 months to generate codes for businesses for a small cost that are standardised under the Harmonized Tariff System Codes Act standardised HS Code system which will then be checked against at the ports and entry points for goods to make entry of cargo into and exit out of the country of goods quicker, we will look to be working with European partners to maybe even spread this out to many EU countries as a collaborative project with this being funded by fees from those requiring codes. This will hopefully make exporting and importing easier for the future.

With five votes for and one against, this amendment has passed.

Iras Tilkanas
Council Speaker and Councillor for the Republic of Istkalen