For the North - The Whitehaven Conference of 2010

[Confederal Republics]

14 Carlisle Avenue
Whitehaven Executive Convention Center
Financial District
Whitehaven
Canton of Eastern March
Commonwealth of Cornavia

In Cornavia, Carlisle Avenue was a synonym for financial success and virility, for it was a street that went through the middle of Whitehaven's prestigious Financial District and which was blanked by the impressive edifices of glass-and-steel buildings housing headquarters of some of Cornavia's largest corporations, not to mention the Whitehaven Stock Exchange itself. Therefore, it was precisely the right location for Whitehaven Executive Convention Center to be based in.

A complex of buildings jointly owned by the Hamilton Palace chain of hotels and the Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce, the Executive Convention Center spanned the fifteen-floor tower housing the Hamilton Palace Intercontinental and the core of the Convention Center, and ten large halls that could be used for the organization of a wide assortment of different events. "From trade fairs to corporate conferences to state visits - the Executive Convention Center has it all", the slogan went. At least this week, even the last part of that advertising phrase held true.

For now would be the time of Whitehaven being the center of attention for the Commonwealth and the rest of the Northern Council, as the city prepared to receive the quests for the first-ever formal assembly of the Grand Council of the aforementioned organization. The effort had not been taken likely by either the Commonwealth or the Cantonal and municipal decision makers, in recognition of what kind of a spotlight Cornavia and its single largest city were being put into.

By the very least, the selection of the Executive Convention Center by Cornavia's Northern Council representative Ryan Conway would ensure that any amenities they wished would be in reach of the delegates and the assortments of aides, servants and bodyguards they would inevitably bring. Hamilton Palace itself boasted no less than five restaurants, cafeterias and bars, one of which provided an outstanding view of the entire city from its 15th floor position and held the highest possible rating in the highly rated Cornavian culinary magazine The Weston Culinary Review. In addition, the halls of the Executive Convention Center added ten or so restaurants into the offering.

In addition to that, a small casino, a communications center providing satellite phone and fax access, hotel-wide free Internet and a fully equipped spa and sauna center were available to serve the delegates and their retinues. To no small expense the Commonwealth Ministry of External Affairs had opened its coffers to make sure that the delegates themselves gained the best VIP suites with fully stocked minibars, and that the food and drink served was of the finest varieties, also using traditional Cornavian features to such a large extent as possible to market the finer features of Cornavian cuisine to an international audience.

As if the arrangements for the actual conference wouldn't have been enough to make Treasury shit their pants upon seeing the bill, the security arrangements mustered under the command of the Commonwealth Constabulary were truly massive. For the purposes of conference security, Whitehaven was divided into three zones: Zone 1 included the Greater Whitehaven Metropolitan Airport, the Convention Center and their immediate vicinity and the routes to and from the aforementioned places, Zone 2 included everything within a two-kilometer radius of the GWMA and the WECC and Zone 3 included the rest of the city. And the rules went as follows: No unauthorized traffic for Zone 1 and no traffic except by locals and those accompanied by locals for Zone 2.

As the meeting was considered a major national security event, the responsibility for its security lay with Commonwealth Constabulary Protective Services, which carried the burden assisted by the Whitehaven Metropolitan Police, the Eastern March Canton Constabulary and an assortment of local police called in from other cities, not to mention the Whitehaven Home Guard which had been activated to make up for the focus of regular law enforcement in the convention areas. Not having left it at that, Protective Services had called up the Constabulary's SRU and STARS units and requested for patrol boats from its own Border Services and official aid from the Armed Forces, which had deployed Special Forces, helicopters, patrol boats and even fighter jets to assist. Not that they could do much except in the case of a terrorist attack, which they were allowed to respond to under the Defense Conditions Act.

Though any terrorist threat was likely to manifest itself only in Northern Cornavia, numerous boreoscepticist, antiglobalist, socialist and anarchist political groups had already announced their intent to stage demonstrations in Whitehaven, and the numbers expected numbered in several thousands.

 

[Batavië]

14 Carlisle Avenue
Whitehaven Executive Convention Center
Financial District
Whitehaven
Canton of Eastern March
Commonwealth of Cornavia

Karl Oosthuizen enjoyed his job. Aside from the healthy salary he got to represent Batavië as the NC's High Representative. It was his dream career. A high-ranking bureaucratic official, travelling constantly between Hilversum, the seat of the NC, and Vlaanderen, Batavia's capital. (He pitied the High Representatives from the lands farther away, who often had to fly to and from Vlaanderen weekly or more often and then take the train to Hilversum).

The flight to Whitehaven was comfortable and lasted just shy of 3 hours. Batavia's Permanent Mission to the Northern Council was operating on what they called a 'Smart Budget', meaning Oosthuizen flew first class via KLM Airways instead of some government chartered jet. He found it to be more fair, any way, being a good socialist at heart. The first class bit was conveniently ignored.

His entourage included about 20 Batavian journalists, 5 assistants, 5 interpreters, 2 solicitors and 10 Vepo bodyguards, lightly armed, heavily in the know. They flew business class and had to share hotel rooms. Oosthuizen, on the other hand, had a private suite, much to his delightful, and silently thanked the Cornavians for offering to host the first Great Council meeting. They could afford to pay for such lavish events, unlike his own government, which would still make it just as lavish if not more, and then have troubles paying the bills later.

After settling into his room, Karl Oosthuizen called the concierge to have his suits for tomorrow's Council meeting cleaned and pressed and he made sure that they had Dutch-language newspapers for his breakfast. News was so much more important than nourishment.

It was early yet and the other High Representatives and their delegations were likely to be arriving. The Secretary-General of the NC, the Batavian-Swede Hans-Erik Rasmus, was arriving in the morning from Threveburg, where he was currently meeting with NC officials there as they opened new buildings and services. Rasmus was presenting the agenda for the three days of meetings and even Oosthuizen had no idea what to expect.

He went down to the bar and ordered a glass of white wine in German. He disliked the English language and still had no intention of learning it. To his enjoyment NC headquarters operated mostly in Dutch and Swedish, with German as an intermediary language for those not able to speak the former two. The barman presented him with a fine vintage of Radilan wine. Oosthuizen enjoyed the light refreshment and relaxed, waiting for someone to come up to him, perhaps a fellow High Representative.

 

[Vistrasia]

Whitehaven, Cornavia

It had been a busy couple of days for High-Representative Tarquinius van Vleuten. After attending the opening of several Northern Council facilities in Threveburg he had immediately gone into a meeting with much of the Vistrasian political elite, he was informed on how Vistrasian politics thought about integration into the Northern Council and he brief politicians on what to expect from the NC. Though the Vistrasian public is generally rather isolationist over the weeks it's grown rather apathetic about the Northern Council which was generally seen as positive by politicians because it meant that the cooperation of the Catholic People's Party in any proposals could be expected.

Upon arriving in Whitehaven and checking in on Carlisle Avenue, the Vistrasian High-Representative and the entire delegation to the Conference, existing out of van Vleuten's office, a number of senior diplomats and the heads of the Vistrasian delegations in the Northern Parliament attended a banquet organized by the Vistrasian Ambassador which was also attended by the upper-class Vistrasian expat community in Cornavia, the oldest generation of Vistrasian expats had been in Withaven there since the Great War and spoke heavily-accented dutch, although still notoriously proud of their Vistrasian heritage.

 

[Éireann]

Whitehaven, Cornavia

Lorcán Ó Donnabháin, Éireann's High Representative to the Northern Council was not a happy man. He had been saddled with a bickering group of politicians representing Éireann's delegation in the Assembly, with half of them not particularly liking the other half at the moment. The big row was over the currency issue, while the liberals were totally for it, the conservatives were were not, and through the entire plane ride, they argued the subject until Lorcán was ready to toss them all out the cabin door.

Once on the ground though, and everyone safe in their hotel rooms, Lorcán turned off his cell-phone and headed for the bar and ordered double whiskey and told the bartender not to wander too far away.

 

[Arendaal]

Arendaal's High Representative to the Northern Council, Mona Eiriksdottir, had been selected for her job for a very particular reason. Not only was she well-qualified on paper, but she had an uncanny, almost zen-like ability to keep her head in a crisis. Such was the effect of her composure that any tensions which may have arisen among the Aren delegation sent for the event, representing the various political parties who had fine-tuned arguing into an olympic sport, were serenely averted.

She surveyed the hotel with satisfaction, and after ensuring with her PA that the Aren delegated had been happily installed in their respective rooms, Mona retired gratefully to her own suite. With the door shut she collapsed instantly on the hotel bed, grateful to have the chance to rest before the beginning of the Conference the next morning.

 

[Batavië]

14 Carlisle Avenue
Whitehaven Executive Convention Center
Financial District
Whitehaven
Canton of Eastern March
Commonwealth of Cornavia

Morning of the first day of the summit

While Batavian High Representative Karl Oosthuizen was briefing his team in one of the convention centre's many conference rooms (this one named the 'Batavian Room'), Hans-Erik Rasmus's jet landed from Threveburg, Vistrasia.

The escort to the convention centre was fairly quick thanks to the cleared streets. Travelling with the Secretary-General of the Northern Council on the jet were a series of aides, press secretaries and a small travelling press corps. Before exiting the plane he addressed everyone on board.

'We don't leave here without setting things straight, everyone. We are here to further support the NC. Do whatever you have to do to keep the other delegations from getting distracted. Let's have some fun as well!'

They entered the hotel/convention centre each aide and secretary off to check in to their rooms. Hans-Erik Rasmus and three of his aides carrying large binders and files began to mingle in the lobby before the session began. He sought out High Representatives to greet them and exchange a few words. He especially wanted to find the Cornavian High Representative, the host and primary organiser of the summit. He accepted a glass of champagne and chatted a bit with the Batavian delegation. Even though a Batavian himself (from the Swedish-speaking minority) he was not part of their delegation and represented the NC as an institution, not as a member state.

As he was talking about his hopes for the summit with a Batavian delegation aide one of his own trusty assistants politely interrupted the discussion.

'The Suionians are still missing.'

'I know. They'll show up soon. They like being fashionably late. They have to remind us all that they have the money and the influence in Northern Parliament.'

 

[Saxe-Friesken and Polaben]

14 Carlisle Avenue
Whitehaven Executive Convention Center
Financial District
Whitehaven
Canton of Eastern March
Commonwealth of Cornavia

Morning of the first day of the summit

Lena Mykjåland and her entourage arrived at the conference with some haste. The Government hadn't seemed to understand who exactly they were supposed to sent to this summit, nor did they understand how important it was. Originally it was tabled as just a summit with a few entry level diplomats to arrive. Once it became realized that more than just Cornavia was going to this conference, the Government pulled the interns and decided to send the Foreign Minister herself. Then, the war in Gaul erupted and Lena was called upon to leave her office in Batavië and trek out to Cornavia because Malin Enström was needed elsewhere. It was then just a few days before hand that Prime Minister Lundqvist called Lena and asked how important she believed the meeting was. When Lena responded that it was fairly important, Ms. Lundqvist seemed rather ashamed how disorderly things were going in that department and apologized to her for not taking the meeting seriously. Then it was yesterday that the Queen herself called her and said she would fly into Cornavia with her. So her plane took a quick stop in Drottninggården and then flew into Cornavia with Her Majesty herself. Lena had never met Caroline, but the flight was warm and enjoyable as they enjoyed a bottle of Frescanian wine together.

Now that they had all finally arrived via large escorted and armored motorcade to the Whitehaven Conference, they took their seats and smiled at the rest of the delegates who had gathered around the room. Suionia represented the largest economy in the Northern Council and frankly it often seemed as though it was resented. Arriving as the last delegation probably did them no favors either. Arriving in likely the largest motorcade with the tightest security also presented a certain degree of flair which would also likely be resented. However they did have a member of royalty in their delegation, and Lena found it very 'cool' that the Queen would still have Lena represent the delegation as its leader.

The war in Gaul was what was on most Suionian minds as they grew more and more worried about war with the Franconians. Something that seemed like it might be unavoidable should the Franconians continue to their current holier than thou attitude. Which of course was something that Franconians loved to do. They didn't lose often, and they loved nothing more than stroking their own pole. An aid was consistently walking in and out of the room updating the Queen was updates from the warzone in Belmont. She had family who lived there and took the conflict very seriously... and from what Lena could tell, the Queen might've been involved with the Prime Minister when it came to some decisions made over the past week. Yet, this was only Lena's guess. They sat and waited quietly. The Queen would be making the introductory speech for the Suionian delegation for added impact, but they did not find it 'lagom' to charge ahead and open the party. The Suionian delegation much rather preferred to speak perhaps second or third...

 

[Confederal Republics]

High Representative Ryan Conway was, all things considered, a happy man. The Northern Council couldn't have gotten a better reception from the Commonwealth than what the Ministry of External Affairs and the City of Whitehaven had jointly built at the Executive Conference Center. Of course, there was still the whole issue of the reception the Commonwealth's citizens gave to the Northern Council, as evidenced by the horde of demonstrators that had entered Whitehaven for their own part of the conference. At least the police would get a plenty of experience with the baton drill. Bloody hippies.

Keeping in tow his aide-secretary-interpreter Jennifer Harman and the head of his small security detail Colin Nevins from the Commonwealth Constabulary, Conway walked in to the lobby-bar of the center's inner sanctum were delegates from here and there were already mingling amidst servants and security staff. Ever the image-conscious PR expert that he was, Conway instructed Lieutenant Nevins to keep an appropriate distance. If you wanted to strike casual small-talk with someone, having a big guy wearing a suit and an earpiece standing right next to you wasn't usually a good move. A blonde with rather flattering physical features was better for that purpose. Senior dignitaries such as Conway were allowed to choose their own personal staff with extensive liberties, and Harman had ended up in his staff to a large part because of that.

Catching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, he noticed Karl Oosthuizen from Batavië talking to someone he presumed from that weird language of theirs to be a member of the delegation, and headed over.

"If I'm not interrupting anything", the Cornavian High Representative to the Northern Council opened in his Southport-accented English, "Pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Oosthuizen. I take it that the leg from your homeland was a pleasant one?"

 

[Batavië]

Karl Oosthuizen smiled warmly at Conway and shook his hand, despite hardly understanding the man's English. When they worked together in Hilversum they almost exclusively worked in German, only rarely calling upon the interpreters to help out with a tricky phrase or two. The aide standing beside Oosthuizen quickly muttered something in rapid Dutch so that Oosthuizen would know how to respond, in German of course.

'Conway, mein Freund, the flight was quite comfortable, I must say. Nothing like a couple of hours in the air with a good scotch and a newspaper! I can see that you have all been quite busy, preparing and all. It must be exciting hosting all of this. To be honest I'm glad that we are somewhere else besides Hilversum. A charming city, to say the least, but it is nice to be somewhere with a bit more activity. Not the anarchist type, though!' he burst out laughing, finding his own joke about the demonstrators quite hilarious.

From the corner of the aide's eye the Suionians were finally seen entering the hall and with the Queen herself. Secretary-General Rasmus walked over from his conversation group and said in Dutch, 'Ga je gang!'

He turned to Conway and shook his hand, 'Let's go and get this started. As host you should naturally begin. Myself and then Oosthuizen will continue and then, I believe the agenda states, the Suionians will speak. They always do like being right in the middle of things.' he chuckled at his remark.

Conway must be getting the impression that Batavian diplomats were terrible with jokes and humour...

 

[Confederal Republics]

Laughing at one's own jokes was usually considered a poor character trait in the upper-class circles Ryan Conway was accustomed to, so the brief encounter with Oosthuizen did very little to impress. Of course, Conway's regular work with the Northern Council had familiarized him with all the other important people as well as Secretary-General Rasmus, so even the less desirable traits and features of character were not lost to him.

In any case, upon excusing himself from the company of the two Batavians the High Representative of the Commonwealth to the Northern Council told Jennifer Harman to tell the attending staff to start ushering the delegates into the 15th floor executive meeting room of Hamilton Palace which had been designated as the spot where the actual meeting would take place. On his way up to the 15th floor in one of the scenic elevators, from which opened a view into the city of Whitehaven in all its beauty from the glass-and-steel constructs of the Financial District and the Port of Whitehaven into the historical downtown and the outlying suburbs, Ryan Conway used the brief moment to go through the details for the opening speech one last time.

In the 15th floor, Cornavian service staff guided the delegates and their key assistants around a large circular mahogany table, on which had been laid name signs and small country flags denoting the assigned seats given to the each delegation. The choice of a round table held symbolic meaning - after all, the Northern Council was a collaborative association of equals, or at least that was how the Cornavians would have it. The set-up was finalized with alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments and snacks provided by the Ministry of External Affairs for the courtesy of the customers.

Ryan Conway didn't need a teleprompter or constant looks at a paper to be able to remember his lines, being that a study in the morning in his hotel room and a last brush-up while heading into the 15th floor and waiting for the rest of the delegates to arrive.

"High Representatives of the Great Council, it is my pleasure on behalf of the Commonwealth of Cornavia, President Charles Breckenridge, Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright, Parliament and the Cornavian people to welcome you to this summit. The Cornavian people as a collective are all very proud of the Northern Council giving us the opportunity to act as a host to this assembly, and it is our and my personal hope that we have not disappointed.

No less than five years ago, a frontline was drawn across the map of the North by the division of Scania into free and oppressed countries. Today, that frontline no longer exists, and the democracies of the North - in other words, the respective states of those of us gathered here in this room - have come together in foundation of the Northern Council to make sure that such an occasion never manifests again.

In human life, advancement occurs inevitably regardless of the action one takes. In geopolitics, the advancement is up to the actors, and it is our duty to bring that advancement into Scania. Whereas a child matures one way or another, it is we who must mature the Northern Council."

 

[Batavië]

The applause died down after Conway's brief, yet potent opening statement was finished. Rasmus and Oosthuizen stood up from their seats and met at the central podium. Oosthuizen to speak after the Secretary-General stood a short distance behind the Batavian-Swede as he took the spotlight.

'Ladies and Gentlemen. Friends and partners from afar. I am so honoured to see us all gathered here today in Cornavia. High Representative Conway could not have said it better or more clearly. We here gathered in this room. The bureaucrats in Hilversum and each respective NC member state capital and every citizen of the Northern Council are headed down a long path towards regional, cohesive co-operation and prosperity. This path is a bright one, lit by hope, ideas and the desire we all hold for a better, easier way of life for our people and society. Yet the path is not straight, nor risk-free. We will face dangers along the road towards prosperity. While old enemies have become new friends we face the inevitable rise of threats near and far. These threats cannot be faced alone. Yet as we bind together in solidarity to confront these dangers, we will continue to make unprecedented progress towards greater regional harmony. On the first of this new year most of the NC member states adopted a new currency, the Northern Dollar. With the coming of this single currency we have made a huge commitment towards the more permanent cohesion of our economies and governments and in turn our people. While we make business, trade, travel and life in general easier for our citizens, we are showing the world what civilisation really can achieve when brought together.'

'I thank you all for being here today and I look forward to working together down this road to prosperity.'

The applause and flash of press cameras erupted after Hans-Erik Rasmus finished his speech in German. Karl Oosthuizen, the Batavian High Representative to the Great Council, took his place at the podium and waited for the hall to quiet once again.

'Fellow Northern Council citizens.' he began in Dutch.

'We have already achieved so much as Secretary-General Rasmus has already stated. Yet we must begin to take these threats more seriously. While not wanting to militarise the NC or turn it into an alliance, we should begin to develop and discuss a concept of a Common Foreign and Security Policy, or CFSP. I throw out the term now because I know it will take a long time to agree upon the proper methods to implement such a proposed policy. Ladies and gentlemen, we face rising threats from all angles and in all forms. As we sadly can see, the aggression of governments can easily translate and develop into war, death and destruction. We face fanaticism that has manifested itself into governments. We confront economic confusion and we observe the vacuum of power and rationality caused by a weak and failed Council of Nations. If we are to survive the coming decades and obtain our goals of prosperity, we must do so collectively, arm in arm. All the while we must continue to legislate and implement changes to better the lives and societies of our countries. Let us do this now before we regret having waited.'

 

[Saxe-Friesken and Polaben]

The previous speech of made by the Batavians was a little strange to her. They had used different languages and made very different points. Perhaps it was just the quality of the translation to Swedish, but she felt odd about it. As if the feeling that something was not quite right. She shared the points of view, but yet still felt like something was lacking. Or maybe it was too much. She couldn't really tell. As she walked up to the podium an applause she nodded and softly cleared her throat. Dressed in business attire and wearing a rather small tiara, compared to the usual crown she spoke to the crowd in a soft English voice that needed the microphone and sound system, as compared to others whose booming voices could reach the crowd without the aid modern technology.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm thankful today for everyone that gathers here looking to us for leadership and guidance. It is no coincidence that we were able to launch to Northern Dollar. This Northern Council is clearly one of the major economic power blocs of this world and our consumer base and economic power will show itself as the leaders of Scanogermania and the clear favorites for business in the West. This is a great accomplishment and a great feat for our nations, many of which have struggled after the Great War and encountered troubling times thereafter. To say that today we can look to tomorrow with higher spirits than ever before, gives me great pride in being part of this project with all of your nations."​

There was an applause as she took a quick drink from her Suionian made metallic water bottle. Repeating "Thank you" a few times, before the applause died down.

"While today's news is good and comforting, there is a lot of work to do. As stated by the speakers before me, we need to establish a Common Foreign and Security Policy. This is something that my country has desired in the past in the form a what we've designated as the Nordic Battlegroup. As group that we can readily deploy anywhere in the world for the benefit of the Northern Council memberstates, and at times, the entire world.

I must stress this is not the only thing that needs our work though. It has become readily clear that the politics of the future will not be discuss in the Council of Nations. This body has found itself obsolete. A body designed for a post-Great War world in which only two nations would dictate to the planet what is best for it. This clearly no longer applies as the world of the past is exactly that. The past... our world of today is multilateral and composed of many nations, all willing to put their right foot forward for the betterment of this world. So I believe it is our responsibility as the strongest bloc of nations in the world to advance the success that is the Northern Council into a successor to the Council of Nations. In this I mean to say, that the Northern Council holds a Congress of willing nations to advance a new body that is to succeed the Council of Nations. I suggest that this Congress be sponsored by the Northern Council states and Suionia would like to put its best foot forward by volunteering to host this wonderful step towards a renewed multilateral world system.

"Lastly, it is the opinion of the Suionian people that an associate organization to the Northern Council be made for neighbors and friends to the Northern Council. This organization would be composed of nations who are interested in application to the Northern Council and friendly states with which our nations conduct great deals of business and military exercises with. This associate organization can foster better relations with our traditional regional adversaries, and bring closer our true friends who reside outside of our traditional spheres of influence.

It is these three ideas that we would like to push forward at this conference, the Nordic Battlegroup, the World Congress and the Associate Council that Suionia feels will be major additions to our working group and our world relations. Thank you."​

There was another applause and she smiled and returned to her delegation's seats. It was surely unexpected that the Queen would appear in Whitehaven, but nonetheless extremely important in gaining traction for the Northern Council on both international and domestic stages.

 

[Batavië]

Rasmus applauded and smiled as the tiara-decked Suionian stepped down. Although he was a bit disappointed that he could not here her Swedish, his native tongue. He turned to Oosthuizen, sitting to his left, and even though as Secretary-General he was not part of the Batavian delegation in any form, he was certainly permitted to chat with whomever he so desired. They exchanged a few whispers about the boldness of her words, yet were largely happy with the message.

Oosthuizen began with the open discussion and switched on his microphone.

'I would like to direct my question to Her Excellency the Suionian Prime Minister. Madame Prime Minister, I am much impressed with your ideas. The World Congress I would like to know much more about. Namely, would this be a replacement for the CN?'

He cleared his throat and put on his reading glasses as an aide passed him a sheet of paper.

'Regarding the CFSP, there is a fine line between sharing similar foreign policies and security analyses and forming a defensive force of our own. I would say that the NC's official non-alignment, or, better said, military-free nature makes it special in that we are not technically an alliance, despite us nearly officially allies. On this point I would like some clarification as to your proposal. Do you want the NC to adopt the CFSP and shed its neutral robes or try to adopt a CFSP and keep some degree of neutrality, if that is even possible?'

'And lastly, Madame Prime Minister and the entire Great Council of the Northern Council, I ask about this so-called Associate Council. My own delegation has notes and plans for something similar, called the Northern Council Neighbourhood Policy. It would be a framework system in which both potential candidate countries and nearby countries not necessarily potential candidates would co-operate with the NC on economic, political and military terms. Take Oelar, for example. It is no secret within Hilversum that, although going through all of the official channels and processes, membership is unlikely in the near future. Yet we want to co-operate with Oelar and its people, help them develop, work constructively with them. Alas, my question has become a statement of my own, or a description, rather. What I wish to say, Madame Prime Minister, is that the Associate Council seems to sound like a side-organisation while the Neighbourhood Policy would be more a framework system, yet both accomplishing similar goals with different methods. Could you please, for the Great Council, explain why your delegation favours a side-organisation rather than a slightly different framework system, which would possibly have more oversight from the Secretariat?'

Oosthuizen waited for the Dutch to be translated into Swedish and the various other languages and removed his glasses, ready to hear her English, of which he could understand not a word.

 

[Saxe-Friesken and Polaben]

Her Majesty the Queen, answered in English with a soft voice yet again helped by the microphone. "I'm sure it was a slip of the tongue, but the Prime Minister is not currently present here among our delegation. I'm assuming you are addressing myself the Queen, in which case I will gladly answer your questions... The World Congress, would indeed seek to be a replacement for the Council of Nations which has proven ineffective. As for the Associate Council, we felt we could better include friends outside of our immediate neighborhood; however, no matter how formulated, this isn't a sticking point for our delegation.

"As for the Nordic Battlegroup, we feel that this does not have a to be an aggressive formation. This could be done easily in the efforts of self-defense and for peacekeeping procedures. The Nordic Battlegroup would be the first honestly multilaterial peacekeeping force and would allow for our nations to share the burden of peacekeeping and be an example as to how nations should conduct peacekeeping forces. Not to mention the obvious fact that a Nordic Battlegroup peacekeeping force easily shows itself as non-aggressive in the sense that the group is not working towards the immediate benefit of any nation state. They have no territorial ambitions and this naturally gives our Battlegroup an advantage in the mediation of any conflict."

 

[Batavië]

Rasmus hid his smile at Oosthuizen's mistake. Meanwhile Oosthuizen responded to the Queen's own responses.

'My sincerest apologies, your Majesty, I misunderstood the interpreters who come from Vistrasia and I am still acclimating myself to their different accent. Of course I know who you are, as does everyone here, however the spoken word right in your ear is powerful and I shamefully used the incorrect Dutch word.'

He drank from his water and made a mental note to personally apologise to the interpreters who had no fault in this.

'I find, at any rate, the idea of the Nordic Battlegroup very interesting. The name is a bit more aggressive than the group's intention sounds, yet that is trivial. As for the World Congress I express doubts at first as to whether it would be wise for the NC to take on such a task and burden of forming a new world forum. It could overstretch our still young bureaucracy and perhaps give us too much to handle at once. I am sure in the committee stages, when this is all looked over further by both the Great Council and Northern Parliament, we can see exactly the plans and blueprints.'

Oosthuizen looked now to Conway, the official moderator.

'I have no further questions, Meneer Speaker.'

 

[Arendaal]

Mona Eiriksdottir, Arendaal's High Representative to the Northern Council, smiled vaguely at Oosthuizen's mistake, as her deputy leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. He had been reflecting on the Suionian Queen's words as the Batavian delegate spoke. "How interesting it is that the Suionians have sent their Queen, and not their Prime Minister, to address the meeting," he mused quietly. Mona nodded almost imperceptibly.

Once Oosthuizen had finished, Ms. Eiriksdottir addressed the assembled delegates.

"If I may," she spoke calmly, smiling at Conway, "On behalf of the Kingdom of Arendaal," she began, "I should like to take this opportunity to, once again, thank our esteemed Cornavian colleagues for their government's gracious invitation to host this historic gathering. I am sure everyone here present is sensible of Cornavia's admirable organizational prowess and grateful to have such an excellent venue for the site of the Council's first major conference. I am honoured to represent the Aren people before the Council, of which Arendaal is proud to be a part."

She waiting patiently for the applause to die down before tossing her mane of ash-blonde hair and continuing.

"Arendaal commends Her Majesty for her proposal of an Associate Organization for the neighbours and friends of the Northern Council. Such an initiative would only be conducive to strengthening ties between the Council and friendly states, as well extending our political influence throughout Europe. The establishment of said organization would, assuredly, receive every support from the Aren government and populace."

"With regards to a Nordic Battlegroup, however, I must express the concerns of my government that the mandate of the group be expressly and exclusively for defensive and peacekeeping purposes. As such, the need to review the proposed name is imperative. 'Battlegroup', unfortunately, carries with it implicitly aggressive connotations. We would not want our European neighbours to misconstrue the intentions of such an initiative. I humbly suggest that the word "defensive" be inserted into the final version of the group's title.

"Lastly, Her Majesty's suggestion of a modern body to take over the mandate of the Council of Nations, is intriguing. While Arendaal considers itself to be an ardent supporter of the CN and its ambitions, we too must concur with the sentiment that the Council has not, of late, been especially effective. The changing reality of the modern word requires, at the very least, a reorganization of the CN. A congress sponsored by the Northern Council to examine the possibility of composing a new body to take over from the Council of Nations would receive our backing. The political reality of the modern world demands the modernization of its most significant international organization."

"I thank you, esteemed colleagues, for your kind attention," she concluded to the applause of the assembled delegated.