In Varietate Concordia
An European Union Election Game
Game Thread (TBD) | Full Game Mechanics Doc | Election Simulator Link
Setting
The crowning event of the Juncker Commission, however, was undoubtedly the series of events in the United Kingdom known as “Brexit”. Having voted to leave the European Union in a history vote in 2016, the UK went through three years of political conflict, instability, and constant failed attempts to secure a beneficial deal with the EU before all of its options were finally exhausted and the island nation was forced to depart in a No Deal Brexit on March 29th. For the first time in the history of direct European Parliament elections, the legislature assembled in the aftermath will have less MEPs than it had in the previous election, with 705 seats up for grabs.
The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 European nations, its current constitutional framework enshrined by the Treaty of Lisbon, also known as the Reform Treaty. The structure of the EU can best be described as a confederation-esque hybrid of supranational and intergovernmental decision making, and its powers are defined by two principles:
- Conferral - the member states of the EU willingly concede certain competences to the Union, and EU law is restricted to only acting within the limits of these conceded competences. In practice, this means that the European Union is not a state in its own right, as its sovereignty comes “from the bottom up”, granted to it by its member states rather than the other way around.
- Subsidiarity - the EU is restricted to acting only where a specific objective can only be sufficiently achieved by its member states working together. In practice, this means that the EU is limited to being a supranational organization, a union of independent states rather than a state in its own right, and otherwise cannot have influence in national matters.
Introduction
Unlike standard P2TM roleplays, be it character based or nation based, election games place the most emphasis on, first, cooperation between players involved in the game, be it players in the same political party, or members of the same government, to achieve the most optimal possible outcome for the country/organization which the players command (in this case, the European Union), and second, RNG-based and turn-based mechanics, rather than free-form roleplaying.
The game will be run on a turn-based format, where each turn will account for a single ingame year. Each turn shall end either one RL week after the last, or twenty-four hours after the initiatives of the European Commission have been submitted, whichever comes first. Each turn shall include actions taken both by all of the players participating in the game as well as the player who holds the position of President of the European Commission (and thus controls the European Commission), and will be followed by a turn report written by the OP (me), where the results of all the actions taken by the players will be processed and results given, as well as all the modifiers, issues and sliders which show the situation of the EU as a whole updated. As the term of the European Parliament, and by extension the Commission, lasts five years, every five turns an election will be held to determine the composition of the EP and the new President of the Commission.
Game information
Note: Though much of this information, especially the Turn format and Election format spoilers, are important to the operation of the game, memorizing everything below is definitely not mandatory, as long as you know how turn-based games work and are willing to follow given instructions in the Game Thread.
In brief
In summary, an annual turn in this game goes like this:
- A new turn is announced in the IC thread and new Institutional Power calculated.
- The Commission President puts forward their Commission’s initiatives for the turn, spending Institutional Power.
- Player characters put forward their initiatives for the year, making actions or supporting/opposing other initiatives.
- The OP posts a turn report in the IC thread where the results of all initiatives are rolled for and calculated. Ongoing events are resolved, sliders updated, modifiers gained or removed.
- The cycle repeats.
In summary, an election in this game goes like this:
- The final turn in a Parliament’s term ends and an election is announced.
- During a specified timeframe, all the parties competing in the election submit their electoral programs, detailing their stances on all the issues posed.
- During a specified timeframe, player characters submit their election initiatives. These initiatives are rolled for.
- The Election Simulator is run and spews out the results of the election, and these results converted into seats in the European Parliament.
- The European Council submits a candidate to the Commission and the Parliament votes on it, whether aye or nay.
(The above point may be repeated until a candidate is found) - Institutional Power is calculated and granted to the European Commission for the first turn after the election. Move to the turn summary.
Applications
A few words on character applications:
- You are playing as candidates to the European Parliament. As such, the minimum age of your character should be at or above the age requirement for standing in European elections in the character's country. In most countries, it is 18 years old, but the age differs and is up to 25 in Italy and Greece. Check the age requirement here.
- I highly recommend your character starting out with at least some political experience in their home country. Freshman young faces are nothing bad to play as and feel free to take a shot at a 20 year old youth in the Parliament if you wish - however, the Commission requires any prospective candidates to have a portfolio of experience and that position is obviously off-limits for the youth. You are free to make your character into a former MP in their home country or even a former minister, even if they are an original character - the only lid, however, is on being a former head of state or head or government, for balance purposes.
- To make sure that as many player characters are concentrated in as few parties as possible, to encourage cooperation, your character may only start out as a member of these following European parties:
For the 2019 election, the other European political parties, as well as forming new parties, is disallowed. - Real life politicians are allowed to be claimed, though don't go overboard with them. The "no former HoS or HoG" rule applies to them as well.
- You are able to make more than one character - however, no matter how many characters you own, you can only submit one initiative per turn, so keep that in mind before creating a flurry of characters.
With that in mind, the character application:
- Code: Select all
[align=center][b][size=150]CHARACTER APPLICATION[/size][/b][/align]
[b]Appearance[/b]: (Real life pictures only, please.)
[b]Full name[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Date of birth[/b]:
[b]Ethnicity[/b]:
[b]Member state of origin[/b]:
[b]European political party[/b]:
[b]Political portfolio[/b]: (i.e. previously held political positions)
[b]Biography[/b]:
[b]Stance on the following issues:[/b]
(Either highlight the position your character stands for, or delete all other answers besides the one your character supports)
[list][*][u]CLIMATE CHANGE[/u]
RIGHT: Whether climate change is truly a man-made thing is still in doubt, so why should we concern ourselves with harsh regulations already?
CENTER-RIGHT: Regulations on carbon emissions and pollution should be coordinated with business concerns. We should not bankrupt our fragile economy with harsh regulations.
CENTER: The current stance towards climate change and the necessary regulations is sufficient.
CENTER-LEFT: The European Union should take a stronger stance towards climate change and enforce all of its member states to follow on wide-reaching regulations to limit European carbon emissions and pollution.
LEFT: The European Union should not only be exemplary in its stance towards climate change, but also force other nations across the world to follow. The EU should pressure the US to approve the Paris Agreement and encourage the spread of climate-friendly technology and climate change awareness in developing countries, such as Africa and Asia.
[*][u]COPYRIGHT DIRECTIVE[/u]
RIGHT: The Copyright Directive, like most other EU laws, encroaches on national sovereignty and should be repealed.
CENTER-RIGHT: The Copyright Directive was a great step for the protection of author rights in the European Union and should be followed further with additional pro-copyright protection laws.
CENTER: The Copyright Directive was a great step forward, but the backlash suffered from it across the Internet and the public indicates that the act was highly controversial and should not be followed up with further reforms.
CENTER-LEFT: The Copyright Directive is a potential danger to the free flow of information on the Internet, and should be amended to address the concerns of internet users and small internet sites unable to establish upload filters and pay link taxes.
LEFT: The Copyright Directive, if it remains, will destroy the Internet and should be repealed immediately.
[*][u]EU-US RELATIONS[/u]
RIGHT: The United States will always be the greatest ally of European national sovereignty thanks to NATO and a history of trans-atlantic partnership. We should change our stance towards US foreign policy and Donald Trump's presidency to maintain this partnership.
CENTER-RIGHT: The United States and the European Union are natural allies, even if the relations between the two blocs have worsened over the years.
CENTER: The European Union should always offer a hand of cooperation to the United States, but as long as the current government is in charge of Washington, we cannot offer that option. Protest against the actions of the Trump administration on the international stage.
CENTER-LEFT: The 2016 election has signified a long expected end to European-American cooperation. The EU is on its way to become a superpower and it should treat the US as a potential adversary, even after Donald Trump leaves the White House.
LEFT: The sorry state of the planet requires the US and the EU to cooperate and promote democracy and liberty worldwide.
[*][u]EUROPEAN INTEGRATION[/u]
RIGHT: The European Union has grown too far from its original purpose of being merely a customs union. We should do anything we can to revert the dangerous growth of European institutions and the power of the EU over nation-states.
CENTER-RIGHT: The current level of European integration is fine, though European institutions could use more transparency and efficiency improvements.
CENTER: The European Union should continue its path of integration - however, a United States of Europe is too far away from reality to be discussed right now. For now, our focus should be solely on improving the efficiency and strength of European institutions while balancing it with national concerns.
CENTER-LEFT: Three hurrahs for Europe! The European Union has gone far, and we shall not stop until we establish the United States of Europe which its founders have sought!
LEFT: The integration of the European Union is highly concerning, especially since it serves the interests of the capitalist class rather than the workers and the common man. We should find a way to revert the dangerous growth of European institutions.
[*][u]LGBT RIGHTS[/u]
RIGHT: The European Union has given far too much ground to these minorities. It should serve as an anchor for traditional beliefs and the sacred marriage between a man and a woman, not degeneracy.
CENTER-RIGHT: There is nothing wrong with LGBT persons in general, but their demands for further recognition are baseless - discrimination in the EU is minimal and granting any more ground for LGBT rights would violate other freedoms such as freedom of expression.
CENTER: The European Union must enforce LGBT rights more strongly and enshrine equality no matter the person's sex or orientation as one of its core values, and actively endorse the legalization of same-sex marriage in all of its member states.
CENTER-LEFT: It is about time to enforce marriage regardless of sex as a universal right in the European Union, and force all of its member states to pass laws towards same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and elimination of discrimination of homosexuality.
LEFT: Alongside enforced same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption, the European Union should force its member states such as France or Slovakia, which have banned affirmative action as providing advantages to specific groups of peoples, to amend their laws and enforce full gender and orientation equality in the continent.
[*][u]MEDITERRANEAN REFUGEE CRISIS[/u]
RIGHT: The Mediterranean Refugee Crisis is proof that the European Union's policy towards refugees and free movement has failed. The member states of the European Union should be allowed to impose barriers and opt out of the Schengen Zone to resolve this crisis.
CENTER-RIGHT: The Mediterranean Refugee Crisis is a Southern European problem, Italy and Greece should find their own solutions to the wave. Nothing to worry about.
CENTER: The policy of refugee quotas should be established yet again, and enforced to make the refugees stay in their distributed nations, to share the burden among all of the Union's member states.
CENTER-LEFT: The policy of refugee quotas should be reestablished and the quotas even increased to share the burden more equally. Alongside that, the European Union should dedicate itself towards constructing refugee camps and centers among all member states, and impose affirmative action laws to allow migrants swiftly integrate to European society.
LEFT: All of our policies will be for naught if we do not tackle the source of the problem. The EU should mediate an end to the Syrian Civil War, intervene in Libya to stabilize the country, and remove Eritrea's totalitarian government, as well as provide significant funding for African infrastructure.
[*][u]PERMANENT STRUCTURED COOPERATION[/u]
RIGHT: PESCO should be disestablished. Why do we need a European army when NATO already exists?
CENTER-RIGHT: PESCO should remain, however, it should be reduced to only an advisory institution integrated into the NATO chain of command. We should continue relying on national armies for the defense of Europe
CENTER: PESCO is a great initiative which should be built upon. We should coordinate it with the European Defence Fund and enforce mandatory member state participation in all of PESCO's collaborative projects to swiftly integrate all European militaries to one framework.
CENTER-LEFT: PESCO shall be the tool with which we establish a unified European Army, an important stepping stone towards the unification of Europe into one state.
LEFT: Why is PESCO necessary when war is a thing of the past, and even if it wasn't, NATO is still around?
[*][u]SANCTIONS ON POLAND AND HUNGARY[/u]
RIGHT: Poland and Hungary are in the right - they have not violated anything, they simply express their national sovereignty, and more countries should follow suit.
CENTER-RIGHT: We should not put unneeded pressure on Poland and Hungary, infighting in the EU is the last thing we want. This matter will resolve normally.
CENTER: Threaten the governments of Poland and Hungary with cutting off Structural Funding for their country if they continue violating EU regulations and threatening the integrity of the Union.
CENTER-LEFT: Take away Poland and Hungary's right to vote in the European Council and freeze Structucal Funding for both of these nations to whip them back in line.
LEFT: We should find a way to enforce a change of government in Poland and Hungary to place pro-European governments in power in both of these nations.
[*][u]SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA[/u]
RIGHT: Putin's strong and competent rule should be an example for us to follow. Repeal all sanctions towards Russia, recognize their ownership of Crimea, and seek reconciliation towards this strong potential ally, even if we have to give up our sphere of influence in the east.
CENTER-RIGHT: Russia's actions in Ukraine are a great travesty, but there is little we can do to change them. Crimea will never be returned to Ukraine and Russia is willing to freeze the conflict in Donetsk forever - and our business concerns cannot wait forever. Approving Nord Stream and repealing most sanctions is a good start towards pragmatic relations with Russia.
CENTER: We should wait a few more years before we make a decision on Russian sanctions. Perhaps Putin will finally yield.
CENTER-LEFT: Sanctions on Russia should be widened and countries aligned with the EU encouraged to follow suit, in order to pressure Putin to a corner and force him to back down from the Ukraine.
LEFT: We should not stop sanctions until Putin is overthrown and Russia finally becomes a free democratic state.
[*][u]TAXATION HARMONIZATION[/u]
RIGHT: The tax level of each member state should be decided on by its national government, this is not the EU's field of affairs. Abolish the minimum 15% VAT rate and prevent any efforts of harmonizing the taxes of EU member states.
CENTER-RIGHT: Some harmonization is necessary to prevent some member states from turning to tax havens, but in general, each member state should decide on its own tax system. Maintain the current system.
CENTER: Taxation harmonization is necessary to turn the European single market fair for all of its members. A minimum 15% corporate tax rate should be implemented in the European Union.
CENTER-LEFT: Taxation harmonization is necessary to achieve a fair allocation of resources in the European Union. Establish tax floors for most forms of taxes, as well as establish a financial transactions tax which would fund the budget of the EU directly.
LEFT: The European Union needs to hold a far greater say in the fiscal systems of its members. Enforce a unified tax system, introduce a financial transactions tax and taxes on robots to fund the EU budget. Expand the financial instruments of the European Union such as the ECB and EFSF to hold greater sway in the finances of member states.[/list]