A Customary Meeting

[Batavië]

Government District
Vlaanderen, Bataafsche Volksrepubliek

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As the Skånsige aeroplane descended over the tree-covered hills of eastern Batavië the skyline of the capital city suddenly came into view. There were hardly any suburbs to alert the passengers of the city's presence. The wide and slow-flowing Oude Roer (Old Ruhr) river was surrounded by grazing cows. Eastern Batavië was home to the dairy farmers while the flat, below see-level parts of the country in the Northwest were the breadbasket of Scania and Communism. The views, while spectacular, were certainly a signal to the visiting dignitaries that Batavië lacked the urban sprawl of its capitalist neighbours.

Upon landing at Jap de Graaf People's International Airport on the outskirts of the city, the Skånsige diplomats were greeted warmly and politely by men and women dressed professionally. They entered black cars and the caravan headed west into the city via the motorway. Travelling on the left-hand side of the road they were cruising at high speeds through non-existing traffic. If one owned a car it was because they worked for the government or military or were a member of the small elite class of the country.

They exited the motorway into the bustling streets of the city. The streets were crowded with cyclists, pedestrians and buses, full to the brim. Smartly dressed police officers directed traffic with the aid of traffic lights, but the caravan did not stop once. Graced with the presence of a Staatsveiligheid (State Security) escort they soon entered the heavily policed Government District. Full of concrete and stone buildings neatly placed in rows, the wide boulevard suddenly came to a large building with an enormous plaza. The cars drove onto this plaza and they all exited the cars.

With one arm extended out and the palm facing up, a giant-sized bronze statue of Jap de Graaf in his military uniform smiled out towards the plaza.

Kommissaris Arjan van Vliet of the CoBuZa went over to the Skånsige dignitaries and shook each of their hands before ushering them into the People's Palace.

'Welkom in Batavië!' he said as they gathered in the grand foyer before heading into the great drawing room. 'We will spend some time here in the drawing room. There is coffee, tea and other refreshments for you all.'

van Vliet, meanwhile, found the dignitary leader, 'We can begin talking now, if you wish while the delegation members relax.'

 

[Skånskige Statsunionen]

Government District
Vlaanderen, Bataafsche Volksrepubliek

Chancellor of Justice, Elisabeth Liljeroth had not enjoyed the trip north. She was not happy that the meeting with Belmont overlapped and so the Executive Chancellor asked her to attend the meeting in his stead. She sat in the car as it passed by a typical communist nation. She couldn't understand why Scania even worked with these people. They are so backwards, she thought.

The car pulled into the stop and she stepped out in her sombre blue pantsuit and immediately asked for some Akvavit, if she was going to survive this meeting, she would need it.

She took her seat in the sitting room and took her shot and grabbed her dossiers on oil and gas and on Belmont and motioned for the hosts to start.

 

[Batavië]

In typical Batavian fashion the meeting was conducted at a circular table. Each dignitary was assigned a chair with placards, notepads, water glasses and microphones and aides were given identical seats in a large outer ring table. Translators were also brought in, but keeping to continental diplomatic tradition, van Vliet conducted the meeting in Swedish.

'Now that we are all settled and comfortable, I welcome you all to the People's Palace here in Vlaanderen.' also typically Batavian was the frankness with van Vliet.

'Oil and gas fields have been discovered in a shared water region in the Western Ocean. These must be properly demarcated so that each respective state can explore and extract as deemed appropriate. As our Skånsigen neighbours made most of the discovery, I wish to turn over the floor to Chancellor for Justice, Mevrouw Lijeroth. She will brief the room on the discovery and present Skånsigen ideas and thoughts.'

Van Vliet switched off his microphone, the red glowing light faded and he leaned back in his swivel chair, removing his glasses.

 

[Skånskige Statsunionen]

Chancellor Lijeroth listened to the Batavians try to conduct business in Swedish, though obviously someone had failed to inform them on how the Skånske are called in their native tongue. The Chancellor, upon pushing the button for her microphone spoke in Skånske, a dialect of Swedish,

''Again, I would first like to thank the Peoples' Republic for hosting these talks. My Government finds these talks to be productive and fruitful to the continued state of our bilateral relations. Let me first state that the Skånskige Statsunionen wishes to condemn the policies of Montelimar in regards to Lusitania. I know this is not related to the topic of oil and gas but I was instructed by Målmöholm to express our strong reservations towards the policies of our Southern neighbour.

Having said that, it is the position of the Skånskige Statsunionen that the border should be drawn in a fair and mutually agreeable manner. It is not our intent, nor will it be our intent to damage either of ours' ability to have fair and equitable access to energy security. Thus, we wish that we can divide the field 50% to 50% as the field appears to mostly extend from around the continued projection of our landborders in the sea.''

The Chancellor then turned off her microphone and took a sip of water.

 

[Batavië]

Van Vliet listened carefully and the continued in Swedish. Using the only dialect taught to him, he made a mental note to enrol in Skånske lessons by Monday.

'A half split would be the most fair compromise and we have no qualms with such an arrangement. As far as cooperation goes, we believe that it would be in the best interests of both our people's if there existed some degree of extraction cooperation. To ensure that all oil and gas is efficiently extracted and transported, I would propose that a gas and oil pipeline connects our countries. As most of the rigs and ships will base themselves from our south-eastern coastline and your north-western one, it only makes sense that they operate more or less together, preventing inefficient doubling of processes, for example.'

Scanning through his notes, van Vliet moved on to another of his proposals.

'Should Batavië have left over supplies of gas and or oil, we would be willing to have it sold on the Skånske marketplace. This would mean, however, that Vlaanderen would receive its fair cut of the sales.'

In other words, thought van Vliet, after the military and elite had their fill and IRB armies their own, the government would profit off of selling its extra amounts on a neighbouring capitalist market, without its name being attached to the sale either.

 

[Skånskige Statsunionen]

The Chancellor listened to the proposals. They all seemed sane except for the last one.

''The Skånskige Statsunionen would generally welcome cooperation between Skånskoil and the extraction arm of the Peoples' Republic. Additionally, we would be more than amicable to a trans-Scanian pipeline. We would be willing to fund our share of the work and Skånskoil shall own and operate our section of the pipeline.

On the issue of selling oil on the Målmöholm Commodity Exchange, I cannot comment on that as that is something that would need to be decided upon by the Exchange and the Storriksdag.

I think then we can agree to have a draft map prepared for our approval or further negotiations.''

 

[Batavië]

Bureaucracy. It was surely to be expected in a democracy. Batavië had its own type, but things were approved much faster. There was little debate time, if any, allotted to matters of state priority, such as natural resource extraction, use and sale.

'I am glad we are in agreement as far as the Trans-Scanian Pipeline is concerned. I do believe that it will prove to be an important asset for us both. As for the Exchange, we shall submit official applications and whatnot when the time comes.'

Van Vliet adjusted in his seat as he appeared to move onto his next subject for discussion.

'Now, I would like to briefly discuss some security issues. Staatsveiligheid reports indicate that right-wing separatist forces near the Batavian border with Arendaal could possibly be basing some of their cells from within the Statsunionen. This has not been confirmed and, of course, we do not put any blame on your country. These days it seems as though any group of lunatics can hide almost anywhere. Anyway, to the point. As of yet there have not been any terrorist activities or attacks upon our country by this unnamed group. Even still the Staatsveiligheid is monitoring those suspected of planning possible future events. I am asking you simply for an assurance that should your intelligence services detect or suspect any illicit terrorist activities, that they will promptly be forwarded to the Staatsveiligheid.'

Unbeknownst even to Van Vliet, the People's Military was mobilising in order to rout out suspected cells operating out of border villages. It was another communication block used by the army, it being a paranoid institution.

 

[Skånskige Statsunionen]

The Chancellor smiled politely; the Batavians obviously knew she would politely decline assistance.

''I look forward to seeing the first draft map and the hammering out of an official deal on this issue. The process of application for exchange will not take too long I imagine, oil and gas are one of those issues that gets politicians working day and night over. Lots of money for their constituents.

On the issue of security. I am sure you are aware of our long running policy of freedom of assembly and speech. Unless the group becomes an overwhelming threat to the democratic system of Skånskige, our security services generally don't keep detailed information. However, if our service does find that an imminent armed and/or violent incidient is planned to happen, we will sure to pass along the details we know.''

 

[Batavië]

Van Vliet nodded in acceptance. He had known they would decline, but he had come prepared. He quickly glanced over to his right. Sitting by the window was a young man dressed in a personally fitted suit and a black tie. He was one of the few people not taking notes at the meeting. He didn't need to, that wasn't in his job description. Listening was. Van Vliet's half second glance was all he needed. He gracefully exited the room to the foyer where he made use of the rotary phone. In any of the other four countries in Scania, the phone model would be ancient, an antique. In Batavië, they were normal and cherished.

Van Vliet, knowing that the young man who had just left was about to contact Staatsveiligheid headquarters and inform them to send 'watchmen' over the border, buttoned his jacket and stood up.

'I am pleased with the results today. Unless there is anything urgent on your agenda, I believe it is safe to say that this meeting is successfully concluded. You may make a press statement on your way out, if you wish.' he shook the Chancellor's hand and dissipated into the crowd of Batavian bureaucrats on his way to his office.