EuroNews - July 2020 - Issue XVIII

Welcome, readers, to EuroNews’s One Year Anniversary Issue! That’s right, this time last year was when our newsletter returned, eager to inform Europe about regional happenings. EuroNews is nothing without its readers, so if you have the time, please explore these fine articles put together by our staff.

---

European Events
Commissioner Competition
Incumbent Commissioner Regnum Italiae won a sixth term in office after beating Novgorod-Pskov in June’s elections for the Commission, further solidifying his place as Europe’s most prolific Commissioner. With only two candidates in the running, June’s candidate roster was regarded as one of the most accomplished in recent months.

Regnum is the author/co-author of several notable European Statutes such as the Commission (Term Limit) Act 2019 and the Telegram (Campaign) Act 2019, and is generally regarded as Europe’s most prolific author of legislation apart from WA Delegate Imperium Anglorum. Regnum placed heavy emphasis on his legislative agenda, with three major bill proposals: The Security Act, the Culture Act, and the Telegram (Bills) Act. The most notable of three, the Security Act, aims to replace the controversy-ridden Defence Office Act, which narrowly failed to pass last month after some chicanery involving electoral fraud.

Novgorod is a well-known regular in Europe, and is also the recipient of the Commander of the Order of Europe (COE) award, the first non-Cabinet secretary to receive such an honour. Novgorod is perhaps best known in the interregional community as Johanneslanden, who served as the WA delegate of South Pacific (not to be confused with The South Pacific) for a year. Nov/Johan was also a legislator in The South Pacific for a period of time. Nov placed a heavy emphasis on legislation, or rather, opposing it. Contrary to Regnum, Nov argued that many of Europe’s dilemmas are pervasive societal issues that often cannot simply be remedied with legislation. As such, the candidate’s manifesto emphasised that Nov would serve primarily as a presence rather than a legislator if elected.

Polls opened on Friday, 26 June, coinciding with June’s electoral debate, an initiative carried out by the European Home Office which organiser Republic of satherland hopes will become a regular occurrence. The debate was moderated by Satherland himself and former Home Secretary Feria-Alkaline. The full transcripts of the debate can be found here. While two candidates remained no further than five votes away from each other during the first two days of voting, Regnum pulled ahead during the final two days, with the tally standing at 45-31 when polls closed on 30 June.

The Results
Total votes cast: 76
Regnum Italiae: 45 (59%)
Novgorod-Pskov: 31 (41%)

Written by Republic of satherland

---

Eurovision Euphoria
Eurovision NS 2020 has finally come to a conclusion! After three months of competition, Aureliana Bardane from The Oriental Empire won the grand finale with her song “Secret Saint”. Fortabt Sind (singing “Hels Domæne”) and Ijswind (singing “Dirk Vansleven”) garnered second and third place representing Laver Island and South St Maarten, respectively. Singers from Yahlia and The New Nordic Union rounded out the top five!

Target Field was the venue for the preliminary rounds of competition, while the grand finale took place at King Edward III Stadium in New Amsterdam, South St Maarten. Performances were voted on by other nations using scores of 1-8, 10, or 12. The idea for a 2020 Eurovision in NS Europe was suggested by Rivierenland and hosted by South St Maarten. The event was an interregional competition with nations, from regions which have embassies with Europe, also participating. Many hope that the competition will continue and become an annual tradition.

A full list of participants, scores, and scoring information can be found here.

Congratulations to all that participated and especially the winning nation, The Oriental Empire!

Written by South St Maarten

---

Prominent Pride
In recent years, June has become the LGBT Pride Month in the United States. June was first recognised as Pride Month by US President Bill Clinton in 1999 and 2000. The tradition was picked up by Barack Obama during his two terms from 2009-2016. June was chosen due to the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall Inn is a gay bay and was targeted by police raids on 28 June 1969. The original raid sparked a week of rioting in protest against the treatment of the LGBT community in the United States during that time period and is regarded as one of the most important events which led up to the gay liberation movement and LGBT rights in America.

June is often marked online with a flood of rainbow coloured content as individuals, corporations, and political movements join in the celebration. Many corporate brands have changed their logos on social media corporations to feature the rainbow colours which are emblematic of the LGBT community. However, despite the apparent solidarity, many are sceptical of whether corporations really care about the LGBT community or are merely trying to make their brand more popular, and subsequently make more profit. Links have been drawn between brands that seem to actually care, like ice-cream company Ben and Jerry’s who refused to sell double-scoop ice-creams of the same flavour in Australia prior to same-sex marriage being legalized in protest against the then-current law, and companies that may not actually care, like video game company Bethesda who changed their logo to feature the rainbow colours on all their regional Twitter accounts except their Middle Eastern one, which seems to indicate they are only pandering to markets rather than making a real statement. It is important to note that many companies and people who may have previously made aesthetic changes in support of the LGBT community have chosen black instead of the rainbow colours in support of the black community following recent events in the US and around the world.

While only officially an American event, Pride Month is picking up traction around the world, and NationStates Europe is no exception. On 1 June, Europe’s traditional European Union-esque flag was traded for one which boldly displayed the LGBT rainbow colours, for the first time. Many European nations also changed their flags to show their support for the LGBT community.

Gay pride is no stranger to Europe however, outside of Pride Month there have been other incidents sparking an outpouring of support for the LGBT community. Perhaps the most notable example in recent European history was in March 2020 when anti-LGBT remarks were made by a former European, prompting many nations to change their flags to various LGBT flags, supporting the community and rejecting homophobia and transphobia.

I reached out to long-time European Galway-Dublin, perhaps one of the most prominent European members of the LGBT community, for her thoughts on Pride Month, both in NS Europe and the wider world. “[Pride Month]’s a statement of acceptance of our identities,” she said. And, with the event also commemorating the Stonewall riots, “recognizes the fight that's made such a widespread concept of acceptance possible.” Building on from the general societal acceptance of the LGBT community, Galway said that despite the obvious and shameful profiteering by various corporations during Pride Month, it’s heartening to see that the LGBT community is now so prevalent and welcome in society that businesses do not feel the need to shy away from this issue.

Moving onto LGBT acceptance and Pride Month in NS Europe, Galway thought the mass flag changes were “cute... it's a fun little showcasing of [European] artistic talents combined with the colourful palette of the rainbow.” She also thought that Europe was generally “too chill to be toxic” towards members of the LGBT community, even if “the occasional bad apple pops up.”

Written by Yahlia

---

Roleplay Report
Europe continues to create high-quality roleplay factbooks and dispatches surrounding their nation’s lore. Despite NationStates being a game about ruling a nation, people often have very little idea about others’ roleplay, so here are some gems from other people for you to explore.

Eritei has been hard at work recently, creating one fabulous dispatch, and adding more to another, to continue filling out their lore. Beginning with their political party factbook, Eritei added logos to her multitudes of political parties, giving them more grounding in her fictional world. From religious unity to green politics, from abandoning democracy to joke parties, Eriteian politics have a bit of everything.

Furthermore, Eritei has created a dispatch filled with information about her nation’s states. Each state has its own flag, as well as data surrounding their population, political history, and contributions to the Eriteian legislature. Eritei has even gone so far as to divide her states into European Union first-level NUTS (French: Nomenclature d'unités territoriales statistiques; Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics), territorial divisions for statistical purposes. A lot of work has gone into these dispatches, Eritei, you should be proud!

Now, featuring high quality dispatches and factbooks has been the norm for this section of EuroNews, however, a truly fantastic piece of RP has been developed by a European that is not a dispatch. St Scarlett created a website for her government, you heard that right, a website. Using Wix, Scarlett has created a very professional looking website for her nation. Operating as a government-run hub, the website offers information on travel, immigration, Skarlagen culture, governmental roles, and the constitution. This creation is a fantastic change to the usual dispatches of NationStates roleplay, and it’s executed fantastically too. Awesome job, Scarlett!

Government of St Scarlett

Remember, Europe, keep checking out each other’s work, there’s some real good stuff out there!

Written by Yahlia

---

Europeans of the Month
Nothing is more important for keeping our region alive than its community! So, here is this issue’s Europeans of the Month to award some of our members for their contributions to NationStates Europe!

The award for Newcomer of the Month goes to... Eurasies!
Eurasies has been around a little over a month but has only recently begun engaging more with the community. Having already joined in with a custom flag for Pride Month, Eurasies also reached out to me to form embassies and join my Alliance of Ecopolitical Parties, and has formed an extensive embassy network with other nations. At a time when many of our old regulars are disappearing it’s great to see newcomers engaging so enthusiastically with our community, Europe welcomes you Eurasies!

The award for RMBer of the Month goes to... Libertandonien!
Libertandonien continues to be a relatively active member of our RMB even as things have become a little quieter and it’s nice to see that some of our regulars are remaining around to interact with our newcomers.

The award for Flag of the Month goes to... Yahlia!
While Yahlia’s flag is simple but effective and uses some great colours, he gains this award not for his nation’s flag but for his work on creating flags for others. Starting this month Yahlia opened his commissions in a more official manner and has set about creating masterpieces for other nations and I’m sure everyone appreciates his hard work. Long live vexillology!

The award for Motto of the Month goes to... The sect meces!
“Per Audacia ad Astra” (To the Stars through Boldness)
I like this optimistic and pretty sounding Latin motto. I always love references to the stars and this one is fitting to Sect Meces’s nation considering its space faring nature. It also reminds me of the motto of the Royal Air Force (“Per Ardua ad Astra”) which means “To the Stars through Adversity” which is a neat little thing.

The award for Factbook of the Month goes to... Eritei!

This is the most detailed state/region factbook I have personally seen and it’s great. Eritei has included everything from history to flags to political voting maps. I like the little region maps too. Here you can learn everything you’d ever want to know about Eritei’s subdivisions! Good work!

And last but definitely not least, the award for General Excellence this month goes to... Novgorod-Pskov!
This month has been largely uneventful, especially when compared with the end of last month, however a few smaller, but still significant, events occurred. Including Nov once again joining the WA and finally running for the Commission. It’s been a long time coming and, while he did not manage to beat Regnum this time, he put up a good fight and I hope he will try again in the future!

Written by St Scarlett

---

Comedic Comics
We are very pleased to feature two comics in this month’s issue of EuroNews: one about a regional meme, the other about regional legislation.

Created by The sect meces and Regnum Italiae respectively

---

IRL Info
Sporting Situation
Football leagues in Europe have all resumed and are playing without fans. La Liga was the second major league to resume, starting back up on 11 June. The Premier League in England followed suit on 17 June, and Italy’s Serie A returned on 20 June.

Bayern Munich have won their 29th Bundesliga and 30th overall German championship, marking eight straight years of domination. They finished on the top of the table with 82 points while the second-placed team, Borussia Dortmund, finished with only 69 points. RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach qualified for the Champions League (CL) group stage. The Europa League spots go to Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Wolfsburg. Paderborn and Fortuna Dusseldorf are relegated while Werder Bremen plays in a relegation playoff with Heidenheim. Arminia Bielefeld have been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga. The DFB-Pokal Final will take place on 4 July with Leverkusen and Bayern playing.

In the Premier League, Liverpool are champions thanks to Chelsea’s win over Man City on 25 June. While the Reds have snatched a draw against Everton and crushed Crystal Palace in their last two games, it was Chelsea’s win that ultimately helped them to snap their 30-year drought without a Premier League title. At the time of writing, Man City is comfortably in second place and Leicester, Chelsea, and Man United are currently holding CL qualification spots. Wolverhampton and Tottenham hold Europa League spots, though the battle for all those positions will be fierce heading into July. City is banned from European competition due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations, though their appeal will come to a final decision in July. The Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) hasn’t yet been decided, but Man City, Man United, Arsenal, and Chelsea are all in the semi-final.

In La Liga, the title race is quite close and as of writing, Real Madrid are up by one point over Barcelona despite the Catalan club having an initial two-point advantage when the league returned. A great stretch by Atletico Madrid has put them firmly in third, and Sevilla rounds out the top four. Villarreal and Getafe hold Europa League spots, although Real Sociedad, Valencia, and Athletic Bilbao look to challenge the former two. The Copa del Rey final between Sociedad and Bilbao will be postponed to allow the game to be played with fans.

The Serie A so far has Juventus at the top of the standings with them having a four-point lead over Lazio. Inter Milan and Atalanta are in third and fourth place, respectively. Roma, Napoli, and AC Milan are in the Europa League spots and are fighting to secure their places there. Unlike other domestic cups, the Coppa Italia has already been concluded. Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 in penalties.

Football is back and even with the absence of fans in the stands, it’s an enjoyable time for fans to enjoy what’s left of the season. Two leagues have already been decided, and we await Serie A and La Liga to see who will become champions in July.

Written by Outer Sparta

---

Titillating Trivia
Hello and welcome to this issue’s National Trivia section! This month, we’re covering Somalia, a country that recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of their independence, Jordan, one of the more peace-filled nations in the Middle East, and Spain, a famous nation in southern Europe whose influence is greatly felt across the world!

Somalia
Somalia’s name is easy to understand, literally meaning land of the Somalis. However, the word Somali has some interesting roots itself. The name is believed to come from the Samaale tribe, which is the oldest common ancestor of most Somali people, and this name comes from the words ‘soo’ and ‘maal’ meaning ‘go’ and ‘milk’ respectively, which links to the country’s farming culture.

Somalia contains the interesting region of Somaliland, a separatist region that was formerly the colony of British Somaliland (as opposed to Italian Somaliland and French Somaliland, the rest of Somalia and Djibouti respectively). This region was an independent nation for just a few days but sees this, combined with it’s different culture and history, as justification for becoming their own country. This area has its own capital, government, and currency. Interestingly this nation has ties to the tiny, unrecognised microstate of Liberland, as well as to Wales within the United Kingdom.

Jordan
Out of all the flags of the Arab nations (excluding disputed Palestine), Jordan’s is the most similar to the original flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. It uses the same colours and layout but with the green and white switched and the addition of a small seven-pointed star in the red chevron. The colours represent the various dynasties that have ruled over them, black for the Abbasid dynasty, green for the Fatimid, and white for the Umayyad. The red represents their current dynasty, the Hashemite dynasty. The white star represents the unity of the Arab people and its seven points represent the seven verses of Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran as well as faith in God, humanity, humility, national spirit, virtue, social justice, and aspiration.

Jordan is located in the Arabian desert, like many of its neighbours, but its territory has a unique area called Wadi Rum. This strange landscape has stunning red-sand vistas resembling the surface of Mars and has become a popular site for film producers. In this desert you can also find traces of ancient civilisations in the form of petroglyphs, inscriptions, and temples. The area was visited by the famous Lawrence of Arabia many times during the Arab Revolt. The tourism industry is strong here, with many camping on the red sands.

Spain
When someone mentions the Celts, most people would think of the British Isles or maybe Brittany in France. These are areas where the Celts survived the longest and where their culture and languages remain relevant in the modern day. However, the Celts used to be much more widespread and, before the Romans, were very common in much of Spain. Many Celtic ruins can still be found in Spain today. You can also find a lot of Arabic style architecture in the southern regions of Spain which were once controlled by the Umayyad Caliphate.

Spain has a town by the name of Belchite which is like no other, this town found itself caught in the middle of the Spanish civil war in 1937 between the loyalist Republicans and Franco’s rebel forces. The town was almost completely destroyed, left as a shell of its former self. Despite being a complete ruin, the town was not demolished and a new village was built nearby with the same name. The original settlement is left as a monument to the war and is often referred to as a ghost town. Like Jordan’s Wadi Rum, it is popular with both tourists and filmmakers.

Written by St Scarlett

---

Edited by Novgorod-Pskov, Outer Sparta, Regnum Italiae, Republic of satherland, and Yahlia

---

We Need You!
We cannot continue to consistently put out fantastic newsletters like this month's without volunteers from Europe. If you would like to help us out in future, as a writer, or editor, or in any other way, please do not hesitate to get into contact with our founder, Feria-Alkaline, or Yahlia, Chief Officer of EuroNews, for more information. We understand that real-life commitments always take precedence over a project such as this, so none of our members are obligated to assist with every issue. More staff simply means less work and pressure for all of us. We hope to see you on our Discord server soon!