What's new

National News Eiffelland (from 2009 until 31 July 2020)

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Streng geheim — Top secret

Trierer Stadtschloss
Kanzleramt
Trier, Eiffelland-Retalia


His Majesty the King of Eiffelland and Grand-Duke of Retalia is able to travel. He will reschedule his usual Tuesday duties.

Albrecht von Dietz-Hadamar, King of Eiffelland, Grand-Duke of Retalia
Dr. Stephan Röpke, Demissionary Chancellor
 

Justosia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
2,515
Location
A city rated more dangerous than Venezuela, MD
Capital
Avalon
Nick
Los
You must be registered for see images

Office of the Foreign Minister
The Great Southern Kingdom of Justosia remains beyond honoured that the King of Eiffelland HRM will be making his state visit Sunday. Viva Justosia. Viva Eiffelland.

In this spirit, we recognize the common bonds our respective nations share. Ideology being chief. We wish to lodge with your foreign relations department a treaty or alliance of friendship & non aggression with full articles to later be determined. Thank you.

Fernando Torres
Foreign Minister

 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Christmas CD from Weissenfelser fraternities great success in Eiffelland-Retalia

Each year a couple of Weissenfelser fraternities give a Christmas concert. The revenues go to various charity organisations. Of course the students are amateur musicians, but they are very good amateurs. The level at which they perform is close to that of a professional orchestra. When Prince Ludwig started to study in Weissenfels four years ago, he joined this initiative as well. Since his first performance in 2015, he has performed in all Christmas concerts, and also in the Spring concerts in the last weekend of April. With his extremely beautiful tenor voice and a long range reaching even the middle tones of the countertenor, he repeatedly sings solo during those concerts as well. As a result, the concerts by the Weissenfelser fraternities have become extremely popular in Weissenfels.
But he not only sings. He also plays the piano. Also during the concerts of the Weissenfelser fraternities. There are rumours about him singing and playing a very beautiful version of the "Border Song", a song by the Engellexian artist Elton John. The same rumours go about him singing and playing John Hyatt's "Have a little faith in me". He is also known for playing classic pieces, however. He once said that his favourite classic composer is Mozart, the man who even 200 years after his death is still the Royal Family's home composer.
Now Prince Ludwig can be heard singing and playing the piano on a double vinyl record, a CD and an internet download. This year the fraternities decided to make a Christmas CD and donate the revenues to various charities. One of the most popular Christmas songs in Eiffelland-Retalia, the Burgundian Christmas song Minuit Chrétien, is the last song of the complete recording. There are rumours that several people, including high-ranking royals, fell in love with Prince Ludwig while listening to him singing this song. We can say with certainty, however, that Prince Ludwig's French is so good that he can be considered a Burgundian.
The double vinyl record, CD and internet download entered the market in the beginning of November. SInce then, they have become a huge success in Eiffelland-Retalia, and also popular abroad.

OOC:
Elton John - Border Song:
You must be registered for see medias

John Hyatt - Have a little faith in me
You must be registered for see medias

Minuit Chrétien:
You must be registered for see medias
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
KPE voted out of parliaments; far right gains votes; coalitions keep majorities; Grauholzer re-elected as Prime-Minister of Retalia

The results of the elections in Eiffelland-Retalia were already clear, but now they are final. For the first time in 100 years, the KPE has been voted out of the soon to be called Landestage of Continental Eiffelland, Rügen and Helgoland. Another striking development is the gain in seats of the far right Volksunion in Continental Eiffelland, Rügen and Helgoland, and the gain in votes of the far right RVP/PPR in Retalia, which did not result in seats due to Retalia’s constituency voting system with three voting rounds.
Retalia’s voting system is like the following. The parliament consists of 200 members, each representing a district. Each member has to obtain an absolute majority of the votes. If in a district no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round, a second round is held with the three highest candidates. If that second round does not lead to an absolute majority, a third round is held with the two highest candidates of the second round. The first and second round took place on 2 and 9 December. Last Sunday was the third round. Normally, there are elections once every two years for 1/3 of the parliament, but this month’s elections were for the complete parliament.

The table below shows the results per province and the total results in Continental Eiffelland.

You must be registered for see images



The table below shows the results of last Sunday’s elections in Continental Eiffelland compared with the elections of April this year there.

You must be registered for see images



The table below shows the results of last Sunday’s elections in Rügen compared with the results of last January there.

You must be registered for see images



The table below shows the results of last Sunday’s elections in Helgoland compared with the results of January 2017 there.

You must be registered for see images



The table below shows how Retalia’s parliament will look like after last Sunday’s elections, compared with how it looked like before the war. Because Retalia has national elections every two years but only for 1/3 of the parliament, it is not possible to compare the results with previous elections. Therefore, that comparison is not made.

You must be registered for see images



As was expected given the polls, Walter Grauholzer has been re-elected as Minister-President of Retalia. He will form a new government in the coming weeks.

The elections in Continental Eiffelland are basically the most important, because the government of Continental Eiffelland will also become the government of Eiffelland-Retalia, although the Ministers of Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs need to be approved by the parliaments of all four Landestage. During the coming week, all Landestage and the Staatsrat will vote about the constitutional reform. After that vote, the Staatsrat will be replaced with the Unionsrat. The current members of the Staatsrat will continue to function as the Unionsrat until a new Unionsrat is voted upon by the Landestage in early January.

Tomorrow the King will receive the political leaders of the parties voted into the Landestag of Continental Eiffelland. The CDV, SPE and LDP already indicated that they want to continue their coalition. The King will probably appoint the new political leader of the CDV, Roland Rheinfeld, immediately as formateur of the new cabinet. It is already certain that Rheinfeld will become the new Chancellor.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the King will travel to Retalia, Rügen and Helgoland to meet Grauholzer and the political leaders of the parties that will be represented in the Landestage there.

OOC: I changed post 493 of this thread w.r.t. the position of the Minister of Finance and the Unionsrat.
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
King appoints Roland Rheinfeld formateur

As expected, the King appointed Demissionary Minister and political leader of the Christiandemocratic CDV formateur. He did so after having consulted the political leaders of the seven parties to be represented in the new Eiffellandian Landestag. At eight in de evening, Minister Rheinfeld arrived at the Trierer Stadtschloss for the second time that day, to be appointed fomateur.
This is quite an unusual step in Eiffellandian politics. Normally an elder statesman is appointed informateur and gets the Royal Order to investigate the possible coalitions. At the end of his investigations, he advices a certain coalition to the King, who appoints a new informateur (or the old one again) to lead the negotiations that will result in the coalition adviced. A formateur is usually appointed in the end stage of the coalition negotiations, when it is almost certain that the negotiations will succeed. The formateur, who will also be the new Chancellor, solves the last loose ends in the negotiations and will look for the new cabinet members together with the negotiators of the other coalition partners. The whole process usually takes one to two months.
The situation with these elections is a special one, however. These elections were held to facilitate an urgently needed change in the constitutions of Eiffelland and Retalia to facilitate the unification of both countries. In Eiffelland, a change in the constitution has to be voted upon twice: Once during the legislature period of the current parliament, and then a second time by the parliament succeeding the current one. Normally elections are not organised specially for a constitutional change; instead, people wait until the regular election date or until early elections are called because of the fall of the cabinet. These elections were held because of the constitutional change, however. The athmosphere in the coalition was so good that the CDV, SPE and LDP decided beforehand to continue together when they would keep the majority.
As a result, several steps in the coalition negotiations could be skipped. It is expected that the new Cabinet will be appointed in the beginning of January. Formateur Rheinfeld indicated that “it is needed under the current circumstances to form a new Cabinet as soon as possible, because several decisions need to be made soon by a government with a full mandate”.
The political leaders of the FDV, Grün, the PCL and the Volksunion voiced their disapproval of the flow of events. Their main objection is that they were not offered a fair chance to bring their points forward and try to reach an agreement. Apart from that, Maximilian Schrempf of the FDV, David Lehmann of the PCL and Günther Ziesche of the Volksunion pointed at the fact that the left side and the centre of the political spectrum have lost votes, while the right side of the political spectrum has gained votes. “Now the government will consist of the losers of the elections; even worse, the biggest loser is in the government and the biggest winner is out. The only way to really pay justice to the election results is to form a government containing the FDV and the Volksunion, because those parties won the elections. Rheinfeld and the King are ignoring the election result with forming a leftwing government while the parliament is rightwing,” as said by Ziesche. Schrempf and Lehmann were more moderate in their statements, but also they called it strange that the winners were left out of the government. “It is clear why Rheinfeld doesn’t want to govern with the Volksunion, but a logical result of the elections would have been that the SPE would have gone into the opposition and the FDV would have gone into the government,” Lehmann commented.
Similar issues are seen in Rügen, where the Christiandemocratic CDPR and the Sociodemocratic SDPR continue their coalition, while the SDPR lost two seats. There is a difference there, however, because the CDPR gained two seats, so the reproach that “the losers of the elections form the government” is not valid there. The Christiandemocratic CSPH in Helgoland has a more comfortable position: It increased its absolute majority, so it can continue to govern alone. Meanwhile, Prime-Minister of Retalia Grauholzer is forming a government with conservative and liberal ministers.


Government of Pelasgia indicates its wish to leave the Trier Concord

The Minister of External Affairs of Pelasgia informed Demissionary Minister of Foreign Affairs and Demissionary Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann that Pelasgia wants to start negotiations to leave the Trier Concord. This move was already expected, despite the many formal and informal relations between Eiffelland-Retalia and Pelasgia. Zimmermann voiced the opinion of the demissionary governments of Eiffelland, Rügen, Helgoland and Retalia that Eiffellland-Retalia will cooperate with this step, but that it would be best if these negotiations are started when the new government of Eiffelland-Retalia has taken up its work. He also indicated that "Pelasgia leaving the Trier Concord is a big loss to the alliance and a big loss to Eiffelland-Retalia", that "this transition needs to happen as smoothly as possible", and that "the best option for all countries is to leave the economic part of the Trier Concord intact, given the fact that Eiffellandian companies are currently investing in Pelasgia, and given the fact that there are a lot of economic ties between Eiffelland-Retalia and Pelasgia which are very difficult to unbundle".
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Last press-conference of Chancellor Dr. Röpke

Today Dr. Röpke gave his last press conference as Chancellor, after having led his last Cabinet Meeting. During this press conference, he commented on various matters. Upon a question about the austerity measures in Eiffelland-Retalia, Chancellor Dr. Röpke indicated: "I am not blind for the consequences of our austerity policy. I am not blind for the consequences of our retrenchments on social security, either. The other solution to decrease the relative government debt, increasing government spending and hoping that that will stimulate the economy as a whole, is a very risky one, however. It could have solved the crisis sooner, but it could also have led to stagflation and even hyperinflation. And that would have led to a crisis of Ostmarker proportions. We considered the risk on such an outcome too big to engage the gamble, and chose for austerity in order to maintain financial stability. Furthermore, we decided that the lowest classes of Eiffelland-Retalia should not be the only ones to suffer, and reduced our own salaries and the allowances of the Royal Family by 20%. We also discussed with the large companies of Eiffelland-Retalia, and managed to prevent massive lay-offs by allowing the companies to only reduce working hours and with that monthly wages, while we would give unemployment allowances for the hours previously worked but not worked now. We have to commend and thank the executive boards of all Eiffelloretalian companies for reducing their own salaries by 20% as well, by the way. And of course the governments of Retalia, Helgoland and Rügen for taking the same step."
Upon a remark by one of the journalists that many large companies from the Kingdom of Eiffelland are investing in Pelasgia because of lower salary costs, Chancellor Dr. Röpke indicated: "We discussed this with the companies in question. This step was mainly taken to cover the factories they lost in Former Trivodnia. Eiffelland-Retalia will remain an industrial nation, but the focus will be more on high-level manufacturing, like the production of chips, complex machines and devices, devices and machine parts for which a high level of precision is needed, and comparable things. Furthermore, the more luxurious car models will continue to be built in Eiffelland-Retalia, as well as the cars destined for the market in Eiffelland-Retalia."


Cabinet-Rheinfeld to be sworn in on 2 January

Chancellor Dr. Röpke also indicated that the formation of the new Cabinet has been concluded. The King will swear in the Cabinet-Rheinfeld at the Trierer Stadtschloss this Wednesday, 2 January 2019. As expected, there are not many new faces in the new Cabinet. As already known, Dr. Stephan Röpke will retire, and the current Minister of Transport and Public Works Roland Rheinfeld will become the new Chancellor. Furthermore, Rüdiger Zimmermann will step down as Minister of Foreign Affairs and become the new Minister of Internal Affairs, Peter Langenhorst will step down as Minister of Internal Affairs to become the new fraction leader of the SPE in the Landestag of Continental Eiffelland, Markus Möller will return as Minister of Transport and Public Works, and Minister of Defence Ferdinand Jung will step down and leave politics. Rüdiger Zimmermann will remain Vice-Chancellor, as well as Andreas Fritschler, who will remain Minister of Finance after he obtained the approval from the parliaments of Continental Eiffelland, Retalia, Helgoland and Rügen. Two remarkable decisions have been taken regarding the new Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs. The new Minister of Defence is General a.D. Egon Kranzer, an ex-general from Retalia; he becomes a government member without being a member of a political party. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs is Julia Leverkühn, former political leader of the LDP in Obereiffel; she is a newcomer in international diplomatics, but has led the Staatsuniversität Ingelheim through a period of many internal conflicts and managed to solve those conflicts. For the first time in more than 100 years, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will not be the political leader of the second-biggest coalition party, and will not be a Vice-Chancellor.

The Cabinet-Rheinfeld will look like the following:
Chancellor: Roland Rheinfeld (CDV).
Minister of Internal Affairs and Vice-Chancellor: Rüdiger Zimmermann (SPE).
Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor: Andreas Fritschler (LDP).
Minister of Justice: Prof. Dr. Julia Böttcher (CDV).
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries: Dieter Maas (CDV).
Minister of Defence: General a.D. Egon Kranzer (citizen of Retalia; no member of a political party).
Minister of Education and Culture: Magda Rädermacher (CDV).
Minister of Transport and Public Works: Markus Möller (CDV).
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs: Marina Dahles (SPE).
Minister of Public Health and Welfare: Erwin Waagemann (SPE).
Minister of Environment, Housing and Country Planning: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schöne (SPE).
Minister for Developmental Cooperation and International Aid: Damaris Adelmann (SPE).
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Julia Leverkühn (LDP).
Minister of Economic Affairs: Dr. Habil. Ariel Rubinstein (LDP).
Minister for Scientific Research Stimulation: Monika Bergmann (LDP).

The new coalition agreement is mainly a copy of the one from June this year, but contains important changes: The introduction of same-sex marriage, euthanasia and a minimum hourly wage of 9 Unionsmark. Surprisingly, these three measures are also part of the plans of the Government of Retalia. The Governments of Helgoland and Rügen will also adopt the minimum hourly wage, but not same-sex marriage and euthanasia. Helgoland and Rügen will not recognise the same-sex marriages closed in Continental Eiffelland and Retalia.
Indications about marital status will disappear from the passports of Eiffelland-Retalia, and a separate document indicating the marital status (a so-called Verheiratetenausweis) will be introduced. The reason for the change in the passports and the introduction of the marital status document is explained like the following: People who are married to someone of the same gender may not want to show that in countries where homosexuality is a problem. When the marital status is not mentioned in the passport, a gay or lesbian can remain silent about his or her marital status in such countries, and be completely open about it in countries like Auraria and Engellex.
 

Justosia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
2,515
Location
A city rated more dangerous than Venezuela, MD
Capital
Avalon
Nick
Los
You must be registered for see images

Office of the Foreign Minister
The government of the Great Southern Kingdom of Justosia expresses its solidarity & support to the government & people of Eiffelland during this trying time. I speak on behalf of our sovereign.

Fernando Torres
Foreign Minister
 

Ostmark

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
735
Capital
Wien
You must be registered for see images

KANZLERAMNT DER VOLKSREPUBLIK OSTMARK

The Government of the People's Republic of Ostmark is not inclined to intervene in events, or answer to statements, that are not strictly related to national politics, but the Kanzleramnt of the People's Republic of Ostmark deems necessary to answer to His Excellency Chancellor Dr. Röpke's statement, who mistakenly attributed Ostmark's 2014 Financial Crisis with government intervention in the economy and expansive monetary policies. We do not deny that Ostmark's default has been caused by decades of mismanagement of the economy and public finances, which are to be blamed, with facts, to the previous free-market liberal economic system that brought our lives and our nation in a downspiral of poverty and economic recession.

The stagnation of Ostmark's economy was, in fact, exaccerbated and triggered, according to our economists, by the heavy austerity policies imposed by the Kholer Government between 2014 and late 2018. Rather than boosting state intervention in the economy to assist the poor and the worst off and inject new money in the economy, a policy that could have saved our middle class from annihilation, the Kohler Government increased the weight of taxation on families and companies, liberalized the few sectors of the economy which - during his mandate - were still owned, or partially owned, by the State, and actively abolished aquired rights such as insurance in case of illness, provisions for large families, reintegration on the job place in case of unjustified layoff, and many others.

The reasons used by former Chancellor Kohler to justify his policies were the necessity to further liberalize Ostmark's economy and allow the market to recover itself. In the meanwhile no expansive economic policy had ever been enacted. The reason why Ostmark's public debt became unbearable, and led us to a catastrophic default, was the collapse of the GDP caused by faulty liberal economic policies which are historically responsible for the large, overwhelming majority of economic hardships in western nations. The collapse of the GDP led by reflex to an automatic increase of the Debt to GDP ratio, followed by a downgrade to "junk" of Ostmark's treasury bonds, and later the default of our national economy.

The mere aknowledgement of the consequences of austerity, aknowledged by His Excellency Chancellor Dr. Röpke, does not provide relief, or in any way improves, the collapse of families spending capabilities that inevitably lead to deprivation and suffering. The lack of a counter-balance to the inequities and the inefficiency of a free-market liberal system, will generate a self-sustaining societal collapse dominated by poverty, resentment, anger and frustration.

The horrors of poverty, malnourishment and deprivation of the most fundamental goods such as food, medicines and electricity, are comparable to deep and infected wounds that we are slowly, but steadily, trying to heal. The dramatic plight of the people of Ostmark will never be forgotten by this generation, and we will remind the next one to never deviate from the path of social justice and equality. Nonetheless, despite our differences, we do not wish to see Eiffelland-Retalia suffer the same plight we have endured, and miracolously survived, in the last four years. We will always stand by the side of the workers and the poor, irrespective of their nationality or the economic policies implemented by their governments.

With respect, we send the best regards.

Signed,

Ludwig Bohmer
Vice Chancellor of the People's Republic of Ostmark
Vice Chairman of the National-Syndicalist People's Party
 
Last edited:

Justosia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
2,515
Location
A city rated more dangerous than Venezuela, MD
Capital
Avalon
Nick
Los
You must be registered for see images

Office of the Foreign Minister
The government of the Great Southern Kingdom of Justosia fully condemns the far left communist revisionism of the state known as Ostmark. Socialism & Communism remain the antithesis of freedom, personal liberty. Whilst Capitalism nourishes prosperity across Europe.

Never can there be a justification for the theiving cabal otherwise known as the aforementioned.

Fernando Torres
Foreign Minister
 

Pelasgia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
4,253
Location
Athens, Greece
Nick
Demos
You must be registered for see images

Pelasgian Empire
Ministry of External Affairs
Public Communiqué

Propontis, 29 December 2018.
ΑΣ 1457/15/2018 (Δημόσιον)

To whom it may concern,

The Pelasgian Empire would like to congratulate the Dual Monarchy of Eiffelland-Retalia on their successful election and on their newly formed government, with particular credit being due to the Right Honourable Chancellor, Mr. Roland Rheinfeld. We would also like to thank Dr. Röpke for his long service to the Kingdom of Eiffelland and to our mutual ties. We hope to work closely with the new government to continue a profound and long-standing relationship of friendship and cooperation with the Dual Monarchy.

Signed and sealed,

Emannouil Avgiros
Minister of External Affairs
Government of Pelasgia
Senator by Right of Office
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Kanzleramt
Trier, Eiffelland-Retalien


I feel the need to react on the comments by His Excellency Vice-Chancellor of Ostmark Ludwig Bohmer and His Excellency Foreign Minister of Justosia Fernando Torres.
I would like to mention that I did not suggest that governmental intervention in the economy and expansive monetary politics caused the 2014-2018 crisis in Ostmark. The only thing I said, was that I consider it too risky to try to outspend a crisis by massively increasing government expenses and conducting expansive monetary politics. I did say that such a step could lead to a crisis of Ostmarker proportions, but I did not intend to suggest that such politics caused the 2014-2018 crisis in Ostmark.
I did not study the Ostmarker situation in detail, but I indeed consider it a fact that the crisis in Ostmark was caused by wrong economic and budgetary decisions in the decades preceding 2014. Based on that, I think that Former Chancellor Kohler was standing with his back against the wall four years ago. The austerity in itself was not the wrong decision; the wrong decision was to put the complete burden on the shoulders of the lower and middle classes. That is something we do differently in Eiffelland-Retalia: We put the burden on the complete society. The complete top layer of the Eiffelloretalian society cut its income by 20%, including the governments, including the Royal Family, including the executive boards of the large companies.
Furthermore, I would like to mention that I do not consider governmental intervention in the economy bad by definition. I agree with you that a completely free market system leads to the law of the jungle, so a certain level of governmental intervention is needed. However, an economy is too complex for a government to plan. Even the economy of a small country. Furthermore, a government should think out the interventions very well. If a company is close to its default because it makes a product that nobody wants, the government should not give financial support to that company so that it can continue to make that product, but it should either help that company to switch to a more popular product, or help the employees of that company to find other jobs. We do the latter by talking to other employers, finding out what those employers need and supplying the needed courses to the employees of the company going into default.
I have to say though that Eiffelland-Retalia has the luck that it is relatively densely populated and has a good transport and internet infrastructure, so everybody can find jobs within 1.5 hours travel distance, and most people can find jobs within 1 hour travel distance. Furthermore, we in Eiffelland-Retalia have a tradition of consensus-seeking between employers, employees and the government. All the result of the Social Market Economy System.
I would also like to give the honourable gentlemen of Ostmark and Justosia the following into consideration. The task of a government is to make sure that everybody in its country has a good life. That task is impossible to fulfil; there will always be some people who fall between two stools. What a government must do, is trying to keep the number of those people as small as possible. The perfect way to do so is unkown at this moment. Everybody is looking for it. I don't claim that Eiffelland-Retalia has found the perfect system, either, although I think that we are close. The people of Ostmark have decided to try a system derived from Socialism. We do not know yet if that is the right decision, but also the Government of Ostmark is trying to find the perfect system. Therefore, I consider it wrong to condemn the Government of Ostmark for the economic choices it made after the 2018 elections. On the other hand, I also consider it wrong to condemn everything that contains elements of a free-market system. Like I said earlier, an economy is too complex to plan; it cannot run without a certain level of freedom.

Dr. Stephan Röpke, Demissionary Chancellor
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Kanzleramt
Trier, Eiffelland-Retalien


I thank His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs Emmanouil Avgiros for his kind words. It has been a pleasure to me to serve the Kingdom of Eiffelland and the Dual Monarchy of Eiffelland-Retalia. It has also been a pleasure to me to work with my colleagues in the Pelasgian Empire. It is with confidence that I will hand over my duties to my pupil at the Universität der Stadt Trier Mr. Rheinfeld in the new year.

Dr. Stephan Röpke, Demissionary Chancellor
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
29DEC2018
Eiffelland's new years tradition: Carbide shooting

It is not really a tradition in Retalia, but it is very popular in Eiffelland between Christmas and New Year: Carbide shooting. It is forbidden in mountainous areas due to avalanche danger, but elsewhere it is very popular. Mainly on the country side, but also in the cities. The procedure is simple: Take a piece of carbide, put it into a milk can with a small hole in the bottom, poor water into the milk can, put the lid on it, wait a couple of minutes so that the water and the carbide can react to form an explosive gas, then hold a torch near the hole in the bottom. The result is an enormous blast and a milk can lid flying hundreds of meters away. If you don't bind a rope at the grip of the lid, you can look for it. But sometimes people go further. They use larger things for carbide shooting, like long tubes. Of course the blasts are louder then, sometimes resulting in breaking windows. This tradition is the only reason why old-fashioned milk cans are still sold in Continental Eiffelland. Well, it has to be said that more lids than cans are sold.


31DEC2018
Arrestments in several cities all over Eiffelland-Retalia; bomb assault in Trier

The Minister of Internal Affairs announced this morning that the Abteilung Sondereinsätze (ASE) of the Unionsnachrichtendienst (UND) (the new secret service of Eiffelland-Retalia) conducted arrestments in Altburg, Losena, Bremen and Köln. The arrestments involved a group of people who wanted to conduct terrorist assaults in Eiffelland. Information about the motives was not given, but the Minister indicated that one group had managed to escape.
A few hours after the announcement had been given to the media, a bomb exploded in the Kaufhaus von Germanien at the Wittenbergplatz in Trier, resulting in nine dead and 20 injured people. The Kaufhaus von Germanien is a very luxurious department store. The assault has not been claimed yet.


01JAN2019
New Year's party was relatively calm

New Year's Eve is usually a tumultuous night. Also in Eiffelland-Retalia. This year, however, it was quite calm. The reason could be that the festive joy had been tempered by the terrorist assault in Trier.


02JAN2019
Cabinet-Rheinfeld sworn in

This morning, the Cabinet-Rheinfeld was sworn in at the Trierer Stadtschloss, the King's working palace. The King took the oath (or promise if people preferred not to swear on the Bible) from all the Ministers and State Secretaries. Afterwards, the King and all the Ministers went to the courtyard for the official picture. The position of the Ministers relative to the King is not random, but dictated by the age of the Ministry they represent.. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is the oldest ministry, so the Minister of Internal Affairs always stands closest to the King. There are two exceptions to that rule though: The Chancellor is always standing at the right hand of the King, and the Vice-Chancellors always at the left hand of the King. Because there are two Vice-Chancellors now, the Vice-Chancellor of the second-largest coalition party stands next to the King and the Vice-Chancellor of the smallest coalition party next to the Vice-Chancellor of the second-largest coalition party.
After the official ceremony, all the new Ministers went to their respective Ministries for the hand-over of the tasks from the old Minister. There was not much to hand over though, because only four Ministers were replaced. Chancellor Rheinfeld first went to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works to hand over his duties as Minister of Transport and Public Works to Minister Möller, and then went to the Chancellery so that Chancellor a.D. Dr. Röpke could hand his duties over to him. Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann had to follow a comparable route: He had to hand over his duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs to Minister Leverkühn first, and then he had go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the hand-over of tasks from Minister Langenhorst. Finally, Minister Gen. a.D. Kranzer went to the Ministry of Defence, where Minister Jung handed his duties over to him.
In the afternoon, the new Cabinet went to the Eiffellander Landestag for the Declaration of Policy. As the political leader of the VU Günther Ziesche had announced before, he filed a motion of distrust against the new cabinet. This motion was defeated; only the VU voted in favour. Franziska Trittin from Grün considered a motion of distrust too heavy, but did file a motion of censure because of the way the formation had been conducted. Also this motion was defeated; only Grün, the VU and the PCL voted in favour.
Minister Leverkühn has her first trip abroad already tomorrow. She will fly to Propontis for the signature of the new Treaty of Amity and Free Trade between Pelasgia and Eiffelland-Retalia.

OOC: I RP it every year: Carbide shooting. Actually a tradition from the Northeastern parts of the Netherlands. Herewith an instruction:

You must be registered for see medias

And some more things:

You must be registered for see medias
 

Pelasgia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
4,253
Location
Athens, Greece
Nick
Demos
You must be registered for see images


Ministry of External Affairs
Official Communiqué

To whom it may concern,

The Pelasgian Empire is most deeply appalled at the recent acts of terror in Eiffelland-Retalia. We offer our most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the attack, and wish a speedy recover to those injured by the blast, offering our sympathy to those too deeply maimed to ever heal, physically or otherwise. This most heinous act of terror bears our wholehearted and complete condemnation, as an act of cowardice and barbarism. We offer any and all assistance necessary to bring the perpretrators to justice, though we are confident in the ability of the Dual Monarchy's authorities to do so on their own power. Our embassy's flag will fly at half a mast with a black pendant of mourning over it, as will flags in Propontis during the state visit of the Honourable Minister Leverkühn.

Signed and sealed,

Emmanouīl Avgīros, son of Lysikratīs
Minister of External Affairs
Senator by virtue of office
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Aussenministerium
Trier, Eiffelland-Retalia


We thank His Excellency Minister Avgiros and the Pelasgian Empire for their kind words and their support in this dire situation. We are searching for the culprits, and for the organisation behind them. We also thank for the offered assistance in finding these persons. We have full confidence in the capabilities of our secret services; however, should we need your assistance, we will contact you.

Julia Leverkühn, Minister of Foreign Affairs
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Parliaments ratify Long Sea Treaty of Free Trade and Amity with Pelasgian Empire

Minister Leverkühn's first action as Minister of Foreign Affairs was signing the Long Sea Treaty of Free Trade and Amity with the Pelasgian Empire, marking the end of Pelasgia's membership to the Trier Concord, securing free movement of goods, people and assets between Eiffelland-Retalia and the Pelasgian Empire, and stimulating cultural exchange between both countries. Today the Landestage of Continental Eiffelland, Retalia, Rügen and Helgoland ratified the treaty, after which the newly elected Unionsrat ratified it as well.
Meanwhile, the Pelasgian Empire formalised its withdrawal from the Trier Concord. Representants of the Trier Concord are currently preparing to leave Pelasgia.
 

Serenierre

Established Nation
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
6,692
Location
Karachi, Sindh
Capital
Villesen
Commissariat for External Relations
We welcome the de-escalation of the hostile posturing of the erstwhile Concord of Trier. May these steps lead to greater peace in the region for the time to come.
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
"Eiffelloretalians refuse to buy Serenien and Kadikistani"
Imports from Serenierre and Kadikistan close to zero

For understandable reasons, Eiffelland's and Retalia's imports from Serenierre and Kadikistan came to a standstill because of the war. Now that the war is over, however, the imports from these countries are still close to zero. The Kadikistani vodka on the shelves of Eiffelloretalian liquor shops has been replaced with Ostmarker vodka, Serenien wines are not sold any more, and car dealers export their second-hand Serenien and Kadikistani cars abroad. Shop owners indicate that they are still willing to sell products from Serenierre and Kadikistan, but like a shop owner indicated, "if nobody wants to buy Serenien and Kadikistani products, I loose money if I dedicate space on my shelves to those products".
A spokesperson of the Ministry of Economic Affairs indicated that the borders are open for products from Serenierre and Kadikistan, but that the Eiffelloretalians don't want to buy products out of those countries out of a general dislike for Sereniens and Kadikistani. "This can only change when Serenierre and Kadikistan work on improving their image in Eiffelland-Retalia. I also have to mention that they will need a lot of patience while they work on their image. In any case, the government of Serenierre is currently doing the wrong thing if it wants to improve Serenierre's image in Eiffelland-Retalia. A press statement like 'With victory, Serenierre crushes Trier Concord in perpetuity' does not help. It does not help, either, if the leader of the country feeds antipathy against Eiffelland-Retalia on primetime TV with statements like 'The Grand Duchy of Retalia, once threatening us with invasion and with brutal rhetoric, now stands fallen and broken, a mere province in the effete Trier regime', 'The Trier Concord, an alliance which once stood to proclaim itself as a leader for monarchism has bent its knee to the will of Serazinism', and comparable pronouncements unworthy to a Head of State, Head of Government, Minister or other kind of government official. Such appearances don't stay hidden behind the borders of Serenierre in the internet age, and are also seen by Eiffelloretalians, who draw their conclusions. We see their conclusions in the decline of imports from Serenierre."


Unionsbahn orders high-speed trains in Lars and République Fleuroise

The Unionsbahn, the state-owned company exploiting Eiffelland's rail network, announced in a press-conference that it will order new high-speed trains in Lars and the République Fleuroise to replace the old high-speed trains that were bought from the République Fleuroise in the late 1970s. Neither Eiffelland nor Retalia ever developed a high-speed train; instead they bought the trains from the République Fleuroise when they built a high-speed rail network. The development of an own high-speed train was considered at that time, but the plans were rejected, because importing the trains from the République Fleuroise appeared to cost less money. Also now the Unionsbahn decided not to order the development of new trains in Eiffelland-Retalia, but instead buy trains that had already been developed.
 
Last edited:

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
"The problems happen at our doorstep; we cannot look the other way"
Eiffelland-Retalia extends asylum possibilities

In a press-conference at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann announced on behalf of the governments of Eiffelland, Helgoland, Rügen and Retalia that Eiffelland-Retalia will extend the possibilities for refugees to receive political asylum. During his announcement, he said: "We cannot turn a blind eye to problems occurring at our doorstep, and we cannot leave the burden of the refugees coming from the regions in Gallogermania currently in uproar to Bergenheim, Lars and the République Fleuroise. But foremost, if a humanitary disaster occurs so close to us, we have a moral duty to act. Therefore, my colleagues from Retalia, Rügen and Helgoland, and I myself, decided to extend the possibility to receive political asylum to the people suffering from the unrest in some regions of Gallo-Germania."
Upon a question from one of the journalists whether this decision was taken upon an equal decision by the Aurarian government, Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann said that "the Aurarians indeed showed us a good example", but that "we also feel the moral duty we have".
One of the journalists asked the Vice-Chancellor how the country would finance this in the light of economic problems in Eiffelland-Retalia and the fact that the country is also supporting Eastern Occitania, Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann said that "we cannot take the whole burden, indeed due to our economic situation, but we can join the others who help the refugees": "We will contact the governments of the République Fleuroise, Lars and Auraria to find a way to coordinate the help to the refugees. We are talking about several millions of people who are fleeing plain hostilities against them; that is a huge problem, but not a problem that can't be overcome."
Another journalist asked about the opinion of the Government of Eiffelland-Retalia about forming a Jewish State around Hierosolyma. Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann: "It is essential that the Jews get a place where they can live in peace. We fully understand that the Zionist World Congress is striving to get or ground such a place. The problem is: Which country is going to voluntarily give a piece of its territory away? A piece of territory where people already live? What are we going to do with those people by the way? Are we going to tell them that they will become citizens of the new Jewish state, despite not being Jewish? Or are we going to forcibly move them? We fully understand that the Pelasgian Empire is hesitant about creating a Jewish state around Hierosolyma, also because it is an important city to three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We have to follow a different way to create a place for the Jews to live in peace. Both the Kingdom of Eiffelland and the Grand-Duchy of Retalia have shown in the past that it is possible to create a place where Jews are full-fledged members of a Christian society while upholding their faith and traditions. Some of Eiffelland-Retalia's most influential scientists are Jews. Some of Eiffelland-Retalia's most famous doctors are Jews. And in the present-day demand to have a 24hour economy 7 days a week, we in Eiffelland-Retalia were ingenious enough to let Jewish shops be open from Sunday to Friday and non-Jewish shops from Monday to Saturday. On Saturday the Christians run the country while the Jews celebrate Shabbath, and on Sunday the Jews run the country while the Christians celebrate Sunday. We think that that is the way the world has to go: To become a society where everybody is a full-fledged member of society while upholding the traditions of the group he or she belongs to. Luckily that is something many people understand. Luckily that is something many governments understand. We look forward to cooperating with those governments in order to solve this crisis."
One of the journalists asked whether only the Jews would be granted asylum, Vice-Chancellor Zimmermann answered: "This measure applies to all political refugees, not only the Jews."
Meanwhile, the Volksunion reacted on this statement as well: "The people of Eiffelland-Retalia have to economize on everything, social allowances go down, school classes grow bigger, elderly homes and hospitals have to fire nurses, roads are getting putholes, but the Cabinet-Rheinfeld opens the borders for 2 million Jews we can't feed, and on top of that hundreds of thousands of gays, lesbians, transgenders and other kinds of degenerated people we don't want."
Also Heinrich Liebknecht of the KPE reacted: "We are depriving Crotobaltislavonia of highly necessary workforce with this measure. We shouldn't welcome the refugees, we should send them back so that they can build up Crotobaltislavonia."
 

Rheinbund

Established Nation
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
11,806
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Capital
Fehrbellin
Headlines

:arrow: Eiffelland-Retalia cooperates with internationalisation of large parts of Retalian Sea.
:arrow: Eiffelloretalian Navy intensifies patrols in and above Retalian Sea and Long Sea to fight against piracy.
:arrow: Carnival (or like it is called in the province Rheinland: Fastelovend) starts tomorrow with the Weiberfastnacht. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announces that "everything said, shown, performed or expressed in whichever form during Carnival solely reflects the opinion of the performer or performers and is not indicative for the opinions of the Eiffelloretalian Government".
 
Top