RTD 24

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In wake of Artabonos Canal opening government reiterates that military ship ban in Baltic Canal will only last as long as no military ships other than Diessan ships are banned from Artabonos Canal
The government of the United Duchies have today reiterated there calls for a military ship ban on ships other than Diessan ones to be enforced in the Artabonos Canal. The government said "We have maintained our policy of no military ships except Duchian ones through the Baltic Canal as long as the canal has existed except in exceptional circumstances such as agreed joint piracy operations and with the approval of Caspian powers. We can and will be willing to maintain this policy however we cannot possibly say to Caspian Allies they cannot use our canal for transit if the Artabonos Canal is used to allow Spanish , Innimican , Duxburion and Inquistan ships into the Caspian. That would create an unfair and dangerously imbalanced situation. Also we believe more military ships from too many powers in the Caspian is a threat to regional security. We can only maintain the military use ban for even allies of ours as long as the same is true for the Artabonos canal. We urge cooperation on this issue and to maintain this situation for the good of regional security and friendship."

The warning comes amidst concern it will increase militarisation in the Caspian something the Duchian government wish to avoid. It is expected that if any Telum nations other than North Diessan have access to the Artabonos Canal for military transit then ECON members and possibly other Caspian powers like Pravoslaviya even may potentially gain access to use the Baltic Canal. The government has however in a statement to us said "We very much hope to maintain the status quo of no military ships other that of the countries that own the canals being able to use the canals to transit between the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf."

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2 Plane collision in Duchies grounds planes
The government have ordered the evacuation of Duchian skies from all civilian aircraft after 2 planes have collided in an what is reported to be an potential ATC failure. The authorities do not know whether the cause was a fault in the ATC IT systems that manage the traffic management in the country. The crash of which we have little details took place at Goudadam Xavier International Airport. It is understood though an Aerodux A350 and
as of yet unidentified A320 are involved in the accident.

The government have announced a closure of airspace for at least a week to allow an investigation into the cause of the collision interview the people involved and check the IT systems as well as check all ATC computers for bugs or potential virus infections. The government have said "Today tragically over 400 have lost their lives in a collision which we do not yet fully know the cause of. We will be contacting victims families as well as conducting a full investigation with out skies closed to all traffic for the week. We acknowledge the damage to the economy this will cause and acknowledge the disruption but we believe safety and protecting lives is more important in this instance. We will resume service as soon as is practically and safely possible. "

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Scheme for Emergency Flights launched
Extra flights into the nations of California and Inquista are being launched temporarily arranged by the government of the Duchies to enable foreign nationals trapped in Duchies to get home from Airports in those countries and Duchians to get to those Airports. The passengers will be transported to or from those airports via high speed international rail with extra trains contracted and laid on to handle the volume. The government are also currently negotiating similar with North Diessan and Innimicus to use spare slots there.

The airlines are also planning to run a train and plane package for the week to maintain as much service as possible. The airlines under the scheme will provide a transfer document and emergency visa as part of the flight ticket price and package and also emergency transfer visas to passengers. These will not enable staying in the country but only transfer to and from the airports. The Prime Minister John Peter Key said in a statement "We'd like to thank the nations helping us out at this difficult time. Your kindness ,generosity, hospitality and help will not be forgotted by Duchians or other nationals in the Duchies trying to get home to their families and friends and jobs. We thank you all for making it possible to aid people unfortunately caught out by the air space closure and also for helping keep vital economic links between the Duchies and nations where air is the only option open and viable. "

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Deal for overseas seats struck
Today the coalition have today agreed to support an Overseas List system based on STV to fill seats in a new Overseas Constituency to represent the 10.7 million Duchians who live abroad. The bill amendment to electoral laws has been going through parliament being scrutinised with a vote expected on Friday. It has also been scrutinise in the House of Duchies where it will be voted on soon after unless there are changes before a vote in the House of Commons.The current plan calls for 72 seats in the House of commons overseas constituency which would make up 9.9% of that house and 30 seats in the House of Duchies for the overseas constituency for that.The main possible change that might delay implementation and voting is potential for some countries to have local seats to respresent specific interests for expats in that nation under an MMR system like the domestic system.

Once passed an election will be held within 3 months of passage for the seats for the remainder of the current term. The move has been criticised by some as essentially "political gerrymandering". All polling of overseas residents has regularly shown citizens living abroad arem ore likely to vote for the PSD , Liberals , Moderates at the expense of more extreme parties like Unus ,New Dawn and The Left and to a degree parties the UoD.The latest polling showed support being highest abroad for the Moderates at 36% with PSD next at 22.4% Liberals Next at 22% and UoD at 14.7%. At current polling the coalition would gain seats.

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Airspace closure extended until 6th Jul after fix found
Today the government have announced the airspace closure in the Duchies will be extended until 6th July after a fix has been found and is being implemented to prevent the situation that caused the collision. The fix in the software is being applied to all computers manually to ensure the correct patch is downloaded in and no hacking of the update is possible. The government have said in a statement "We thank the public and the airlines for their patience in this matter and public safety was the number one priority throughout as it always is. We also thank the countries of Innimicus , North Diessan , California and Inquista for their emergency transit visa schemes and hosting of flights that would have gone to and from the United Duchies. This has helped us a great deal and we also thank the train companies for taking air tickets as alternate routes for passengers. Through working together we avoided an outright crisis. " The business community is relieved at the announcement and it is expected flights will be at full operation by 8th of July at the latest with a gradual build up of traffic over the 2 days from 6th to 8th of July.

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Duchies announces end of Telum Priority
The programme to give lower requirements for Telum nations and priority has ended as of today. The government announced they have failed to reach reprociprical arrangements in negotiations with some Telum nations. The government will instead look at negotiation favoured nation status with some Telum nations in return for favoured nation status for Duchians granting 200 points extra. This will mean a net drop of 300 points in the system for those nations. This will now practically mean ECON nationals have more priority in the Duchian immigration points system. The government said in a statement "We tried to secure the continuation of current arrangements unfortunately this has not been possible due to changing priorities in systems in some Telum nations. We respect this and bar no ill will but we cannot give priority to Telum as a whole when some nations in Telum will not return that priority in their immigration system."The government have confirmed any current visas for residency and long term work will be renewed with those visa holders able to seek alternative jobs like any other citizen or work and residency visa holder.

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Duchies Governent condemns illegal vote and independence declaration
The United Duchies government has condemned the illegal declaration in Anastasia City. The government has worked hard to fix damage from earlier terrorist attacks and constant provocations from extremists in the Anastasia. The government said in a statement "We absolutely condemn this provocative and illegal declaration of independence . It it clearly against the treaty of Porterdam that was agreed and we do not recognise any government other than those elected in legitimate democratic Duchian elections. We will work to root out the extremists and continue to defend Anastasians from their extremism working with local authorities to provide top quality services and constantly develop the city to meet the needs of residents and create leisure and sports destinations in the city. If any violence occurs we will deal with it appropiately."

The government are known to have plans for dealing with extremism in the city with national police and law enforcement having the power to take over if local police fail with other stabilisation mechanisms available if needed. The government are said to be against using such powers in order to not raise tensions in the situation. The opposition Unus and UoD have called for a military stabilising operation if it goes further and for national police to be sent in now but the government have called any extra security right now an "overreaction " to the situation. The government and PSD are in talks with their IUAC counterparts in the coalition to discuss how to defuse the situation.

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Deal struck with ADA
A deal has been struck with the ADA . The government of United Duchies has let go the ADA members arrested with a Pardon from the High Duke and warning not to support extremism again. The ADA in return has agreed to condemn terrorism and extremism in Anastasia City.

The government announced they would be happy to hold mediated talks including EU mediated talks over increased autonomy but would not recognise any independence or offer independence. The government said "We are happy to come to peaceful resolution to this stage and hope to come to a common understanding that will please all. We will discuss areas that could be devolved to Anastasia City."

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Political spending allowed to rise
The government today announced the government would be raising the maximum spending of parties on all campaigns and looking at reform in campaigning. The government announced to reflect the cost increases in politics and the increase in wages and printing costs over the last few years they would be increasing the allowances for spending. The National election spending caps will be doubled this year to 80,000 Dux Libra per Candidate and 100,000,000 Dux Libra in total on all national campaigns for 2022 and 2023. The local and Duchie political spending allowances have also been opened up. The allowances will then be increased to 120,000 Dux Libra per candidate and 140,000,000 Dux Libra nationally. for 2024 The move has been made at the recommendation of the Duchies Electoral Commission .

The donation limit and membership fee limits will also be raised to 40 Dux Libra in 2023 per person and 50 Dux Libra in 2024. This will mean parties can raise 80 Dux Libra and 100 Dux Libra per member respectively for each of those years. The commission also announced they would trial allowing parties to put targeted political adverts on social media networks such as Pogo and Twitter and adverts on public transport with parties being allowed to spend money on media advertising in countries with expat populations to reach those communities for the overseas representititves elections for House of Duchies and House of Commons. This will be the first time political advertising has been allowed in over 40 years.

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Government rolls back Worker Representation requirement

The United Duchies governing coalition and Imperial Senate voted to roll back the Workers representative requirement to only 40% of the board of the company for Duchian Subsidiaries and companies as a minimum requirement but instead have instituted a 5% cut in Corporation tax for companies who give 50% of the seats on the board to workers. The new move was designed to stem plans for companies to leave the country ahead of changes at the end of the year while still encouraging companies to give 50% of the board to workers. The new companies will be placed in a category known as Semi-Mutual Company. The move is designed to still encourage companies to give workers an equal say in company decision making while allowing for companies to have more control over the board for a higher tax rate.

The compromise was reportedly brokered by the Moderate Party in order to allay concerns about companies wanting majority shareholder control over the board . The requirements will still apply to all businesses with a physical presence in the United Duchies including any warehouse capacity owned or leased by the company. However those who use logistics services to handle deliveries to the United Duchies will still not have this requirement allowing sales and customer service to be handled outside the country still while still applying Duchian consumer protection rules on companies if they want to keep their license to operate.Company shareholders will have the right to choose whether to be a semi-mutual company or just a regular corporation structure as well as how many representatives are on the board for workers. In all companies including semi-mutuals decisions on selling or buying of subsidiaries and brands as well as policies on sharing of profits is to be left up to the shareholders of the business with only the shareholder vote counting towards a decision on those issues as is currently the case.Takeovers and mergers will be subject to a vote of all board members including Worker Representitives in cases where the company was founded in the Duchies and is owned by a Duchian business or citizen, foreign owned businesses will not have to follow this rule and may shut down their division. Staffing levels are also to be decided by shareholders and managers.

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National Minimum wages raised from next month
The government have passed the act to set a national minimum wage set by a Minimum Wage Commission made up of 50% Union Representatives and 50% Business Representatives . The first minimum wage has been set at 12 Dux Libra meaning Doornevale will have a minimum wage rise of 6.86%, Aranvale 24.96% and Anastasia City20.00%. All other Duchies already have higher minimum wages than that minimum with increases ranging from 9.68% to 13.45%. The wage increases have been brought in to share the wealth more and take into account inflation in pricing in the country.

The act requires the national minimum wage to go up by the rate of inflation , GDP growth per capita or average wage increases. Whatever is the highest figure. The move will mean the wage should keep up with the economy and costs over time. The comittee may have the power to set an increase above this should the need arise. The move has been hailed by unions and PSD as a triumph for workers rights in the country while critics have expressed the concerns it could increase unemployment significantly by raising minimum wages too high and making Duchian labour too uncompetitive in a global market place. However many experts have said they expect no significant increase in unemployment since minimum wage jobs are typically hard to outsource to other countries being in the service industry such as hotels , leisure and retail.

The new labour relations act has also required an overtime pay of 1.5 times normal pay for any hours over 35 hours a week with any hours over 40 hours to be entirely voluntary and also requiring overtime payments. The move is designed to encourage companies to reduce hours worked per week across the board to increase a work life balance.

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Anastasia City projected to reach 501,615
Anastasia City is projected to reach 501,615 residents in the the neighbourhoods with a big refugee population and immigrant population. It is illegal for Duchians to move to Anastasia City without a permit that is gained by marrying an Anastasian City and illegal for Anastasians to move to other Duchies unless they are married to Duchian Citizens. The government have stated they hope there will be enough homes for 1,000,000 within the next year. According to statistics 85% of housing is state owned and rented by the state with the option to buy housing at an affordable rate with the money to be reinvesting in state housing if that occurs much like other state programmes for home ownership.

The government have also announced the high speed railway station will be open within 1 months with builders and engineers working hard to finish the station by the main shopping centre . The Railway station will be served by Baltic Express, Eastern and Baltic ,Flixrail, Purple Train and Roscoes Intercity providing 5 options to travel to the city though there will be increased security at the station due to recent events. The Stadium is expected to be completed by middle of next year at the latest. The government have promised to increase investment in the city far above treaty levels with rumours the subsidy could reach 40 billion Euros per year by 2025 the date of the final regular payment according to treaty. Despite being only required to give 12 billion Euros per year the government are increasing the subsidy to €33,250,000,000.00 for the 2022-2023 year up from €20,850,000,000.00 in the 2021-2022 year. This is on top of the 100,00,000,000 Euros already given as a starting seed fund and the right to borrow100 Billion Euros at a discount rate. The Moderates and PSD have said they will focus in the Anastasian Assembly to make "A premier city for urban mobility, livability and pedestrian friendliness with world class transport links and social housing." The Housing Ombudsmen has rated 95% of the social housing in Anastasia City as A grade. One of the highest percent's in the country.Roscoes have announced they plan to reopen stores by the end of the year dependent on the situation in the city noting strong demand as many Anastasians have crossed the border to Baltia City to shop at Roscoes.

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Overseas Citizens Election Law passed
The elections for representitives for Duchian citizens abroad passed after being signed by High Duke Nikolai. The act passed the House of Commons, , House of Duchies , Imperial Senate and the review process of the Ducal Court for constitutionality. The system will be as originally proposed. The act passed with less votes in the House of Duchies as Unus and UoD expectedly opposed the act with this being expected as it is acknowledged by many pundits these more conservative parties are less popular abroad , a key reason why many previous governments have never passed such an act with UoD being in coalition either leading or supporting for 27 years out of the last 37 since the election system had its last major change with the Moderate party opposing major changes during the last Moderate and PSD coalition.

The change has been called for over many years with many campaigns to introduce voting for Duchian expats. The system will consist of 72 seats which will be set in proportion to total population of citizens and residents and reset every 10 years to match new date on citizenship.. This unlike the normal elections of house of commons will be decided in a separate election process using a Closed List PR system but held at the same time. Any expat citizen can run and parties can put up any candidates on the list. It is expected that representatives on a list will be selected for each major expat population with the aim of spreading campaigning work.

The second house will be elected using the Closed List PR system but instead elect 30 members the same as each of the other Duchies.Polling stations will be open in embassies , consulates and in buildings hired for the purpose in countries with high expat populations and counted like any other vote in the country. All ballots will be paper in line with the longstanding law banning Electronic Voting . Citizens may also send in postal ballots. Campaigns will also start to feature rallies in the major expat population centres such as California ,United Kingdom , Reitzmag, Spain and Inquista popular for their weather and english speaking societies allowing for easier transition. Hustings will be held in embassies with candidates on the list answering questions asked by local citizens with these hustings being online. The first election will be held on Saturday 5th November with the term to last until 2025 and the next all out election to be in line with the election cycle. The government hope to get high turnout and experts predict that the current government parties particuarly the Moderates and PSD will do well with centre right and right wing parties UoD and Unus likely to not do as well in these constituencies.

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Duchian Government take emergency control
After months of issues in Anastasia City and the failure of the local authorities Anastasia Cities policing has been took over by the Duchies High Police with Army to also assist in a peacekeeping role in Anastasia City. The government said in a statement "We have tried and tried to prevent an intervention. Tried supporting local police but they have failed time and time again. We have decided there is no other option but to take control over the situation and improve the law and order situation."

The government have also announced they will conduct an oversight operation with the government appointing a Emergency Overseer with with the right to intervene in local government decisions if necessary. The government still plan to invest in the development of the city at their present rate. The government have also announced they will start a mass deportation of the trouble makers with a revocation of visas and deportation to the last country they lived in as is standard procedure.

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Op-Ed:Whoever wins Premier Race we must hold them to account
Op-ed by James Mizrachi-Roscoe , Councillor for United Duchies
Europe faces a choice that is important . Calvin Kunhert whatever result he gets will have made an impact. I do know him fairly well with him being a fairly big power in the PSD , which incidentally is an EPA member who almost unanimously voted against him . He certainly is not in any way aligned with the ELSS however that portrayal may be claimed.

The choice is a choice over how Europes funding use is dictated and who controls the giving out of money in the nations. Do we trust nations to do it and run the process with local knowledge or centralise it in Europolis. I can see a case for a mix of both with the overall goals being set in Europolis then a locally appointed or elected board to actually run the doling out of EU funds in the country . Whatever I believe we need more localism in the EU EDA especially if funding is to rise, a project by project basis for the EU office and subject to the the Commissioners vote for every little project is just not sustainable and even 100 million Euro projects are small fry in context of the proposed at least 35 billion Euros. Even if Juncker wins I believe that national boards and an allocation method will prove to be needed to deal with the increase in projects being funded and the amount of funding just like many in the ELSS were proved right when we criticised how little the EDA was given before the budget was proved a joke when it couldn't even fund a Solar Power Project worth just 2 Billion Euros of investment in Azrekko . We said it would happen and it did yet those setting the budgets and in the EPA accused us of obstructionism for refusing to support the budget and called us fearmongers'. They have yet to appologise to us and Europe for that failure.

I have run the biggest supermarket and conglomerate in Europe one most people in Europe We leave decisions every day to national CEO's we don't vote on every little supermarket at HQ and have the leadership in United Duchies approve it. Why? Because its impossible , thousands of decisions and investments like that cannot possibly be voted on by only 2-3 people and don't have time to be approved by the board every time. We have to let the board decide on the big picture. You want a way to make a organisation inefficient make the heads vote on every little decision of a few million Euros like supposedly Juncker plans with the EDA , I ask him how does he and fellow commissioners if elected plan to approve every application including every little 500,000 Euro bike land or research grant for a new technology worth 5 million Euros for example with just 3 of them . I warn him now how it will go having run businesses for my life , it will mean applications take months , nations will see national funds or funds like the GEF can react faster or even just foreign aid programmes are more efficient and money won't be claimed. Then they will say nations haven't claimed so it isn't needed when in reality it will be nations just gave up. He must delegate being to a centralised office in Europolis or to national funding boards and organisations with people appointed or elected by the nations , that is the only way to run such a large budget worth 10's of billions of Euros.

However that is the past and we must move forward we do not know who will win it could be either but Juncker is in with a fair shot of winning to say the least. If he does and if Kunhert wins we must hold them to account. We need to make sure the EU is truly useful and meaningful and plays the key role in fighting climate change and quickly and sustainably developing all nations and helping those with less GDP per capita who need more help to catch up , especially nations with high poverty figures or dependent on high carbon economies at present. This means money must be spent , no more joke surpluses of 66% being returned to the nations, you don't run big organisations taking a big amount just in case and giving back 66% in a surplus payback , that just makes you less effective and wrecks havoc on national projections for budgets and budget plans as often spending is decided a year in advance, most nations have already budgeted in the EU contributions into their plans. Basically if the EU is to work and be relevent we must spend money , the EDA needs 35 Billion to 65 Billion Euros per year and there is no excuse but to give this to the EDA when the project increase in budget even with Strathae is significant.

Imagine 65 billion Euros helping the poor, helping those who have the most difficulty transitioning and funding a green industry boom. Imagine getting Carbon to net zero by 2040 potentially even sooner than that. Seem unrealistic? Well it is if it doesn't get the full funding.

So whoever wins lets push for at least 80% of the budget to be spent , the EDA to get no less than 35 Billion Euros but preferably far more and push for an actual concrete plan and policy with the commissioner making it clear how he plans to split powers between the EU and its nations and where. We need no more wishy washy politics and politicians but clear practical policy and actual honesty and less gimicks in politics that makes Europeans distrust the EU so much(which is a shame because the EU can do so much if it is run the right way) and more clear support for a more equal Europe that focuses in levelling up those nations with less resources and GDP per capita. We must make sure the new comissioners achieve this and get us on this path, for failure to do so will only harm the EU and Europeans even further. I came into EU politics to serve and to make the EU work and promote an EU that can actually do stuff in the EU while respecting nations and differences between nations, we must make sure these are the values and policies that get implemented. I will play my part if 80% of the budget is not spent in any proposal and the EDA doesn't get at least 35 Billion Euros I will vote against it on behalf of our great nation not because I dislike the EU or want to wreck it but because I want an EU that works and has the resources to do great things for all its members.

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Flights take off from Duchies
Flights have been restored to normal with the airspace of the Duchies opened following updates to the air traffic control system. The closure was conducted following the crash between an AeroDux A350 and an Easyjet Duchies A320 that cost 492 lives. The airspace opened up following critical upgrades to prevent a repeat scenario following small scale testing on planes without passengers of all types.

The government have thanked all neighouring countries and close by ones that helped in the transport scheme to maintain access to air links using excess capacity in other countries , thanking California, Inimicus , Inquista and Spain in particular for their special transit visa programme. The scheme has kept the country running. The government have apologised for all disruption caused and promised full compensation is ongoing. A memorial service for the victims consisting of many different nationalities including Spanish,Inimican, Californian and many Reitzmic citizens is scheduled at the palace in 1 month. The government have invited the Heads of State and Heads of Government of Spain, California ,Inimicus and Reitzmag to the service to honour their citizens in the service that was ordered by High Highness High Duke Nikolai III.Crash victims families have been promised 10 million Euros per victim on the flight with national authorities asked to assist in getting information needed to compensate the families of the victims.

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Duchies International Funding Allocation Agency set up to bid for allocation of EDA funding
The Duchies government today set up the Duchies International Funding Allocation Agency to handle all EDA money in the Duchies with the agency to bid for a full allocation based on what it believes the United Duchies should receive based on its contribution to the budget. It also plans to put bids into the Agriculture fund on the same basis should that become focused on being application based.

The move is designed to more efficiently distribute the money using local knowledge of the the economy and culture. The agency will also distribute the money to Duchy level boards based on their needs to further increase the efficient use of the EU money. The government said "We believe in the EU and look forward to the boost in its EDA funding. We will be setting up this government backed agency in order to more efficiently allocate money and make bidding for money more efficient by using our national and duchy level knowledge to make grant and loan decisions locally. This will cut costs of applying and allow smaller projects to bid by allowing them to go to a local office for the applying for funds rather than have to waste time going to Europolis to do so, it will also mean money is spent well as people who understand the unique and local conditions in the Duchies will be making all the decisions on allocation under this plan."Boards of experts will be set up for each type of fund so funds are being distributed by experts in their fields.

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Strait Taxes bad for consumers and Europe says Duchies Business Association
The Duchies Business Association president has said the Spanish taxes set a dangerous precedent for Europe that is bad for consumers and businesses throughout Europe. The president said the taxes raise prices and could make foreign trade all but impossible if the idea spreads. The President said "A tax of 2% of cargo value doesn't sound bad at first after all its only 2 Euros on a 200 Euro Phone for example but that ignores several problems. The first is there is 5 ccountries between Inquista and Duchies so if one was to ship the phone by sea and all 5 charge taxes that is suddenly 10 Euros extra or 5% more on the price of the average phone and that ignores the adminstration costs of sending cargo value sheets to each country who waters or EEZ's are passed through. It also ignores most things like cars and even phones can require 100's of components. If you repeat these extra costs on each component you can easily quickly have prices raised by 100% or even 200 or 300% so that 20,000 Euro car becomes 60,000 Euros or that 200 Euro Phone 600 Euros. That is the danger of the taxes the more widespread they become the more components they affect and the more it exponentionally grows the cost until you suddenly have all products be unaffordable. This is why nations must resist this method of tax and find other ways to fund conservation of marine areas and to manage safety of the seas. Already Spanish taxes make products far more expensive it would only get worse the more taxes there are and grind international trade to a halt and crash the living standards of Europe. Spain may think it benefits them but it doesn't it ultimately hurts them and their consumers the more the precedent is set and I believe we must have EU action on this issue to save the market and keep stability. " We sought oppinions from throughout the spectrum but there is despite our attempts to find dissenting oppinions no contradictory opinions or statements. All experts agree it harms consumers and raises costs of products potentially in an exponential way.

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Economic Results announced for United Duchies
The United Duchies have announced the economic results for 2021-2022 in over the adjusted 12 month period measure has increased by 16.57% to €13,638,117,589,042.10 with the per capita GDP increasing 12.57% to €125,764.68. The Median wage has also increased from €67,705.66 to €76,087.63. The results have been celebrated by the government who said "Our moderate economic strategy is working. By focusing on business that enpowers workers with a free trade policy we have generated more and more wealth per capita and we are proud of this achievement."

Grocery inflation was less than 4% much better than expected with the average family grocery bill only increasing from €8,771.79 to €9,122.66. This was achieved by controls on minimum-price selling agreements increases. The EU contribution is to be €13,638,117,589.04 for the year while housing has increased from an average of €647,334.81 to €704,290.72 which is represents a lower percent of median income than last year. Analysts have said public spending as % of GDP is expected to grow to 47% including local spending with government revenues taxes as % of GDP expected to drop to 47.5% of GDP based on the coalition agreement. Exports also increased but not as much as imports. Population increased from 104,713,812 to 108,441,556 a significant increase.

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James Mizrachi-Roscoe pledges to demand "high spending effective EU budget"
James Mizrachi-Roscoe , the EU Councillor has pledged today to demand a "high spending effective EU budget". James Mizrachi-Roscoe said about the budget in a statement "I will be holding Juncker to account making sure he holds up to his pledge of making the EU mean something and also making use of the budget his colleagues sought so hard to put back up. I will not be tolerating another budget with half or even 40% is unspent still and returned to the nations as that makes a joke of voting for the increase back up to 1% of gdp from 0.5% of gdp for contributions to the EU effectively making that vote pointless. My conditions for voting for a budget are simple:
1:At least 35 billion Euros is spent on the EDA though this could easily be raised to 60 billion Euros without breaking the budget and make the EU EDA truly useful and relevent.
2:80% of available money from contributions is spent. There is no point in just having a huge surplus once again they just returns money to nations for many like my country that will have set the yearly budget already with EU contributions in mind.
3: There is support in the budget for nations dependent on high carbon industries and those countries that will have the most challenges adapting to a low carbon economy and the effects of climate change , a climate change adaptation fund and High Carbon Country Transition fund would help in this. Though how this is done is optional.

These three objectives and conditions must be met for my vote. I want a useful EU and will not let Juncker make it a lame duck EU through a pathetically low budget which I very much hope he does not do. If he does though I will stand against it can call for ah higher budget and propose amendments to make sure the EU is truly useful."

The councillors calls have been supported by all parties including the PSD who have typically backed different councillor candidates tied to the EPA. The PSD said "We support Juncker and voted for him in the commission elections but he must deliver on his promises and give a budget and structure of how money is allocated that works and makes the EU truly useful to member states, something frankly it is not right now as pointed out by Kunhert who despite us disagreeing with him made good points in this area. The budget must be spent rather than contributions being mostly returned. This is one area all parties agree on in the United Duchies."