Van Luxemburg

The Grand Duchy of Van Luxemburg Groussherzogtum Vun Lëtzebuerg
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Concordia civium murus patriae"
Anthem: Alzettelied
Map of metropolitan Van Luxemburg
Capital	Lëtzebuerg
Largest city	Esch
Official languages	Vun Lëtzebuergesch
Recognised national languages	Dutch, French, German, Italian
Demonym(s)	Van Luxemburger
Government	federal constitutional monarchy
• Grand Duke	Floris I van Annabeek-Witzelsbach
• Premier	Antonio Lurani
• Upper house	Nationalzemmer
• Lower house	Zweete Zemmer
Population
• 2019 census	111,288,000
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate
• Total	$5,987 trillion
• Per capita	$53,800
HDI (2020)	0.943 very high
Currency	Florin (VLƒ)
Time zone	UTC-2 (Marmorian Standard Time)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.vl

Van Luxemburg (Vun Lëtzebuergesch: Vun Lëtzebuerg), officially the Grand Duchy of van Luxemburg (Vun Lëtzebuergesch]: Groussherzogtum Vun Lëtzebuerg), is a Grand Duchy made up of a federation of several historical states, located in the Marmorian Sea in western Maredoratica. Besides a federation of 9 states in what is commonly considered metropolitan Van Luxemburg, it controls the Special Cantons of Philipsbaai and Waterberg. Van Luxemburg is bordered to the north and west by Ruccola and its main archipelago is surrounded by the Cold Sea in the East and the Marmorian Sea in the south. With a population of 111 million and a GDP of almost $6 trillion, it can be considered one of the larger economic powers in the region. Its official capital is Lëtzebuerg, whilst the most populous city Esch is also its main economic hub.

History

Loose alliance of states forms in the 1400s, is then turned into a more formal Grand Duchy/state under what will become the House of Annabeek-Witzelsbach in the 1600s, economic hardships in the 1500s-1600s lead to the development of colonies mostly for agricultural goods, extensive civil war with republican elements in the late 18th/early 19th century culminating in a federative state under the Grand Duke in the 1850s, swearing itself to armed neutrality and defending commerce. Relatively uneventful 20th century sees increased cooperation with neighbours and focus on economic growth.

Geography

Van Luxemburg covers an extensive archipelago that stretches over 2000 km and is over 700 km wide at its widest point. In terms of elevation, it covers everything from a high point of 5,100 metres in the Perret mountains, to the low-lying plains of Sint-Annabeek where polder land lies as low as -23 metres below sea level. Numerous large, navigable rivers cross the landscape.

Climate

The climate of Van Luxemburg is mostly influenced by the currents of the Cold and Marmorian Seas. In the northermost parts of the country, a humid continental climate quickly gives way to an oceanic climate in the majority of the country, whereas the southern parts of the country benefit from a hot-summer Mediterranean climate and the mountaineous areas have an alpine climate.

Politics and government

Van Luxemburg is a representative democracy organised as a constitutional monarchy under a Grand Duke as Head of State, even though his position is limited by the constitution to ceremonial roles only. The Nationalparlament is a bicameral legislation which has the Nationalzemmer as an upper house and the Zweete Zemmer as a lower house. Even though the Zweete Zemmer (and the government, by extension) is elected through regular party-list proportional representation elections every four years, the upper chamber or Nationalzemmer relies on a system of direct democracy. It elects representatives through a rolling, randomised lottery within a pool of eligible candidates, providing them with a one-year term in the 500-member Nationalzemmer and allowing them to approve or reject laws and motions previously approved by the lower chamber (Zweete Zemmer).

The Nationalparlament is generally only responsible for introducing legislation that transcends the level of the individual states of the federation (Çantons). In practice, this means that it has responsibility over foreign affairs, the military and national infrastructure, as well as social and judicial affairs matters that must be coordinated at the national level. The Nationalparlament is commonly advised through the Expertconseil, which has numerous councils of named specialists on particular subjects that outline long-term policies in all areas and advise on important issues to both chambers of parliament, on their request.

At the level below, each Canton has its own legislature, often chaired by local nobility or royalty in a ceremonial role. It mostly deals with matters of regional importance and speaks the official language of the Canton (generally different than Vun Lëtzebuergesch, except for the Canton of Lëtzebuerg). Legislation regarding issues such as taxation, housing and education may thus differ between Cantons and in theory, Cantons have their own military and civilian defense reserves and have far-reaching responsibilities in terms of law enforcement, but in practice this is left to the national government. In practice, the Expertconseil also assists the Cantonal governments in their decision-making.

Military

The military is commonly organized into three branches, being the Arméi (Army), Marine (Navy) and Marechaussee (Gendarmerie). Both the Army and the Navy operate an air arm, the Arméi Loftdienst (ALD) and Marine Loftdienst (MLD).

With the Grand Duchy following a path of armed neutrality, the military of Van Luxemburg is mostly focused on the defense of its own interests. Over the last century however, the state's expanding economic interests has meant that the military has also seen a gradual expansion in its abilities to project power beyond its own borders, in defence of commerce.

At home, the military relies on a strategy commonly known as the Plan Senneville, after the nation's first post-civil war prime minister. It relies heavily on prepared fortifications and positions manned by a defense volunteers organisation that is organised at the municipal level. In recent years, this organisation has also become more and more responsible for civil defense tasks. The military itself relies mostly on its army to fight a highly mobile war of defense, with heavier units assisting municipal defense units at natural chokepoints.

Foreign relations

Van Luxemburg mainly aims to maintain at least cordial relations with most nations, primarily for economic reasons. Due to its policy of armed neutrality it has not engaged in any military alliances, but has established an economic agreement (the Martigues Agreement) with the neighbouring Republic of Ruccola, permitting free movement of goods, capital and labour. It furthermore hosts the Maredoratic League, a intergovernmental organization for regional affairs. It also hosts several regional NGO's, thanks to its neutral status.

Economy

Van Luxemburg can be considered a social market economy with a strong focus on its manufacturing and technology sectors and can be considered a regional economic power. Its currency, the Van Luxemburger Florin, is one of the most stable and important regional reserve currencies. Approximately 65% of the total GDP of almost $6 trillion USD is contributed by the service sector, followed by 32% by its industry and around 3% by agriculture, which is mostly derived from the highly mechanized growing of and trade in seeds, flowers and plants.

The country's main stock exchange is the Esch stock exchange, BESA. Its ESAX index is a major regional index and includes numerous large Van Luxemburger and foreign firms. Notable is the establishment of the joint Rucco-Van Luxemburger sovereign wealth fund Firema (Fund for the industrial reconstruction of Maredoratica) in 1945, focused on the reconstruction of the regional economy after a major war in the 1940's, during which both nations were neutral. Through this sovereign wealth fund, the two states own large stakes in numerous industries across the region, with its dividends being used to further regional industry as a whole.

Energy

In recent years, Van Luxemburg has invested considerably in more environmental means of generating energy, especially as it does not have any large deposits of oil, coal or natural gas. Previously mined deposits were considered uneconomical or unsafe to further exploit and closed over the past decade, with the last coal mines scheduled to close in 2030 at the latest.

This has resulted in a renewed focus on nuclear and natural energy sources, with the recent opening (2014) of a nuclear power plant on the coast of Sint-Annabeek, and the opening of various wind parks in the Cold Sea and Annabeek Bay, where the eastern wind coming in over the open sea could be harnassed. Further developments include the refurbishment of hydro-electric facilities in the Perret mountain range and high subsidies on the installation of photovoltaic panels on residential housing as well as in commercial construction. On 14 August 2021, Van Luxemburg could announce that for the first time ever that it had succeeded in powering 100% of its demand with renewable energy for at last a full day.

Numerous challenges however remain as the national grid sees increasing challenges in dealing with the uptick in localized power generation and a mismatch in the availability versus demand of power, requiring the use of nuclear but also older gas and coal-powered plants to fill the gaps.

Industry

The country has a particular reputation for its manufacturing industry, focusing primarily on the automobile industry but also a major stake in regional aerospace, railway and shipbuilding industries. Due to the increased focus on technology in these sectors, the country's economy has also shown major developments in the services sector, particularly IT and industries supporting its major transportation industries. Major firms include automobile manufacturer VLT Group, aerospace group Monteluci Aeronautica e Difesa and IT services firm Walter Technologies.