Alliance of Nortuan States
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Alliance of Nortuan States ANS | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 | |
| Administrative capitals | Laitstadt, Besmenia (Headquarters) Allengin, Elbresia (Nortuan Congress) |
| Official languages | English (Working language) Besmenian Caticeze-English Candatoreze Arenish Seravian Utobanian Offeati Shebati Tinegardish |
| Type | Intergovernmental Organization |
| Membership | 16 members |
| Leaders | |
 Harriet Mastersonn | |
 Jörg Rautenberg | |
 Bayman Belgrada | |
 Dontalia Vera | |
| Establishment | June 1st, 1989 |
| June 1st, 1989 | |
| January 14th, 2011 | |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 264,672,233 |
| Currency | Norta (ℕ) (NOT) |
The Alliance of Nortuan States (ANS) is an intergovernmental organization located in east and central Nortua. It was founded on June 1st, 1989 in Samaroda, Besmenia and is headquartered in Laitstadt, Besmenia. The Nortuan Congress, the legislative body of the organization, has its seat in Allengin, Elbresia. Other key institutional functions of the organization include the Nortuan Central Bank, which is dual headquartered in Eblium, New Anea and Aassillit, Versenia. The organization has 16 member states with a combined population of around 265 million people. The Nortuan Monetary Union, established in 2011, created the Norta (ℕ) as an official currency widely used throughout the organization, though not necessarily at a sole utilization.
The ANS was first proposed by the Besmenian delegation to the 1985 Pan-Nortuan Conference, held in Allengin as a means to promote interregional co-operation on topics such as trade, national security and immigration in the wake of the period of solid economic growth during the late 20th century. The Alliance was formally established on June 1st, 1989 with the states of Besmenia, Elbresia, Versenia, Candatora and the Commonwealth of Arenor ratifying the ANS Charter in the Besmenian city of Samaroda. Since its inception, the ANS has greatly expanded both as a diplomatic instrument as well as one of interregional peacekeeping with several milestone acts of legislation coming into force such as a common extradition treaty, tax incentives for member businesses to expand their operations and interregional war games. The ANS' long term goals are for the expansion of the organization's mutual currency (the Norta), a free trade zone, and relaxed border controls between member states.
In late 2023, prompted by the Haduastan War, the ANS co-created the Trilateral Strategic Security Dialogue alongside WEDA and the SBU.
History
Origins
The prospect of a unified Eastern Nortua had been a concept since the 1940s, though the Besmenian division, the Offeat Troubles, and differing ideologies from leading governments around the region, as well as the tensions of the post-World War era and the Cold War's influence from the UCSS seeping into West Besmenia prolonged these ideas. However, following Besmenian reunification in 1967 and the 1973 Offeat coup d'état, the ideas for a formal alliance went into effect. However, due to Besmenia's right-wing government under Robert Gleitzmann from 1972 to 1980, the idea processes for a unified eastern Nortua were prolonged again. During the 1980s, delegates of multiple Eastern and Central Nortuan nations met in conferences to lay out the frameworks of a unified organization, which would in their perception be a subdivision of the Coalition of Crown Albatross' 1975 Charter Agreement.
From proposed idea to the ANS Charter (1985-1989)
In 1985, the Pan-Nortuan Conference in Allengin, Elbresia brought the proposal of Besmenian delegates to form the Alliance of Nortuan States, which would promote interregional co-operation on topics such as trade, national security and immigration. On June 1st 1989, delegates and heads of state from Besmenia, Elbresia, Versenia, Candatora and the Arenoran Isles met in Samaroda to ratify the ANS Charter, officially forming the Alliance of Nortuan States. They appointed Gerhard Mahler, who until then had been the Besmenian foreign minister, as the first Secretary-General of the ANS, and established Allengin as the legislative capital to host the Nortuan Congress, while Laitstadt would host the executive headquarters of the ANS.
History of the ANS since 1989
Initial anticipated growth of the alliance was slower than expected, with the next member states to join being Ivite and Kyti on April 1st, 1991. Tine joined the ANS on December 8th, 1992, and New Anea and Utobania joined on September 1st, 1993. In Saint Offeat, the right-wing regime of Beltramo Cassaro collapsed in 1996 and was replaced in a referendum by a left-wing coalition of ANS-sympathetic politicians. Thusly, Saint Offeat joined the ANS in 1998 after a mediation period in which the ANS poured economic investment into the country to stabilize its fractured institutional systems. It was 8 years longer before the next member state, Yubonia and Greater Normark joined in 2006, and in 2012 North Shebat, South Shebat, and Lovinali also joined.
From the beginning of the 2010s, the cohesion of the ANS has been tested by several issues, including a debt crisis in some of the member countries, increasing migration from Adula, Utobania's 2012 withdrawal and admission to the Sotoan Basin Union, and the consequences of the civil war in Syraranto. In 2011, the Nortuan Congress agreed to the formation of a mutual currency called the Nortuan Monetary Union, also known as the Norta (ℕ). While most nations in the ANS have not adopted the Norta as the main currency, every nation utilizes it as an accepted currency alongside other national currencies. The Norta is issued through the Nortuan Central Bank, which is dual headquartered in Eblium, New Anea and Aassillit, Versenia. With Palingia's accession to Besmenia on April 11, 2022, Palingia became part of the ANS without increasing the number of member states.
On May 30th, 2022, a referendum for Elbresia to leave the ANS failed just a month ahead of the national election. The close referendum was initially swept away from concern by most ANS officials, but on July 4th Alexander Desende and the Conservative Party won the Elbresian election, unseating President Gilles Martin and uprooting 30 years of liberal party control. Martin and his party long kept the frameworks of typical ANS operation at the forefront of Elbresian policy, but Desende vowed to eventually pass a referendum to leave the ANS. Ultimately, the contention was about economics, as Desende wanted Elbresia to be less integrated with ANS regulations. In a referendum in Elbresia on September 10, 2022 on ANS membership, about 79% of the voters voted for Elbresia to remain in the ANS.
On September 14, 2022, Coaitte joined the ANS as the 15th member.
Goals and purpose
The goals of the ANS include:
- Promote peace, Nortuan values and the well-being of its citizens
- Closer cultural and economic cooperation
- Promotion of social justice and social protection
- Promotion of scientific and technological progress
- Strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity between member countries
Headquarters
The official headquarters of ANS is located in Laitstadt in the Nortua Tower, which was built between 1989 and 1993. Before that, the Laitstadt World Centre was used as a temporary headquarters between 1989 and 1993.
Politics
Members
Membership is available to any state in Nortua. The prerequisite is that a member state must adopt a peaceful course in their foreign policy.
| State | Accession | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Besmenia |
June 1st, 1989 | Founding member |
| Elbresia |
June 1st, 1989 | Founding member |
 Candatora |
June 1st, 1989 | Founding member |
| Arenoran Isles |
June 1st, 1989 | Founding member |
 Versenia |
June 1st, 1989 | Founding member |
 Ivite |
April 1st, 1991 | |
 Kyti |
April 1st, 1991 | |
 Tine |
December 8th, 1992 | |
 New Anea |
September 1st, 1993 | |
| Saint Offeat |
March 15th, 1998 | |
 Yubonia |
June 1st, 2006 | |
 Greater Normark |
June 1st, 2006 | |
 North Shebat |
March 1st, 2012 | |
 South Shebat |
March 1st, 2012 | |
 Lovinali |
March 1st, 2012 | |
 Coaitte |
September 14th, 2022 |
Former member
| State | Accession | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
 Utobania |
September 1st, 1993 | November 1st, 2012 |
ANS institutions
Nortuan Congress
The Nortuan Congress is the largest political body of the ANS. Each member nation sends 6 delegates from its own ranks to attend Nortuan Congress sessions. The president of the congress is elected from among the members of the congress for 4 years.
Nortuan Monetary Union
Economic and Social Council
Governance
Secretary-General of the Alliance of Nortuan States
The Secretary-General of the ANS is elected for a term every six years. The secretary-general candidate is proposed by the heads of state/government of the ANS member states with a qualified majority and then elected by the Nortuan Congress with an absolute majority of the members. The secretary-general provides the guidelines and is supposed to ensure that the ANS has an effective and collegial work organization. He also represents the ANS on an international level. In the event of the premature departure of the secretary-general from office (e.g. through resignation or death), the deputy secretary-general temporarily assumes the duties of the secretary-general on an acting basis until the Nortuan Congress elects a new one. The current secretary-general of the ANS is the Elbresian politican Harriet Mastersonn, elected by the Nortuan Congress on 15 April 2019.
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerhard Mahler | 1 June 1989 | 1 June 1995 | Besmenia
|
| Duncan Holmes | 1 June 1995 | 1 June 2001 | Arenoran Isles
|
| Christopher Shirley | 1 June 2001 | 1 June 2007 | Versenia
|
| Liam Arbour | 1 June 2007 | 1 June 2013 | Kyti
|
| Viliana Stasio | 1 June 2013 | 1 June 2019 | Saint Offeat
|
| Harriet Mastersonn | 1 June 2019 | - | Elbresia
|
Deputy Secretary-General of the Alliance of Nortuan States
The Deputy Secretary-General of the ANS is nominated by the Secretary-General of the ANS and elected by a majority of the Nortuan Congress. The Deputy Secretary-General shall assist the Secretary-General and assume his duties should the Secretary-General be unavailable at any time. The current Deputy Secretary-General of the ANS is the Besmenian politican and diplomat Jörg Rautenberg, who was nominated by then secretary-general-designate Harriet Mastersonn and elected by the Nortuan Congress in May 2019.
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1989 | 1 June 1995 | ||
| 1 June 1995 | 1 June 2001 | ||
| 1 June 2001 | 1 June 2007 | ||
| 1 June 2007 | 1 June 2013 | ||
| 1 June 2013 | 1 June 2019 | ||
| Jörg Rautenberg | 1 June 2019 | - | Besmenia
|
ANS summit meeting
Since 1990, the ANS summit has been held every year in March. Participants are the heads of state/government of the respective member countries and the ANS secretary-general. The economic and political guidelines are determined at the ANS summit. At the summit meeting in the election years of the Secretary-General, a candidate for the office of ANS Secretary-General is selected and nominated the participating heads of state/government. To do this, the proposed candidate requires the majority of the heads of state/government.
| Summit | Host country | Host city | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Besmenia | Laitstadt | 27-29 March 1990 |
| 2. | Arenoran Isles | Arenkau | 23-25 March 1991 |
| 3. | Ivite | Tanin | 21-23 March 1992 |
| 4. | Kyti | Kasema | 27-29 March 1993 |
| 5. | - | - | 25-27 March 1994 |
| 6. | - | - | 21-23 March 1995 |
| 7. | - | - | 18-20 March 1996 |
| 8. | Arenoran Isles | Inverkralle | 23-24 March 1997 |
| 9. | Versenia | Aassillit | 11-13 March 1998 |
| 10. | Candatora | Highsite | 24-26 March 1999 |
| 11. | Tine | Tinegard | 25-27 March 2000 |
| 12. | - | - | 21-23 March 2001 |
| 13. | Besmenia | St. Butz | 19-21 March 2002 |
| 14. | - | - | 9-11 March 2003 |
| 15. | Arenoran Isles | Goldriver | 13-15 March 2004 |
| 16. | - | - | 20-22 March 2005 |
| 17. | - | - | 19-21 March 2006 |
| 18. | Kyti | Rakohovo | 18-20 March 2007 |
| 19. | - | - | 2-4 March 2008 |
| 20. | - | - | 12-14 March 2009 |
| 21. | Tine | Drøske | 22-24 March 2010 |
| 22. | - | - | 15-17 March 2011 |
| 23. | New Anea | Eblium | 19-21 March 2012 |
| 24. | Kyti | Golenovo | 5-7 March 2013 |
| 25. | Arenoran Isles | Kurnow | 19-21 March 2014 |
| 26. | - | - | 7-9 March 2015 |
| 27. | - | - | 12-14 March 2016 |
| 28. | Besmenia | Berkafurt | 26-28 March 2017 |
| 29. | Candatora | Highsite | 13-15 March 2018 |
| 30. | Versenia | Millerrath | 18-20 March 2019 |
| 31. | - | - | 26-28 March 2020 |
| 32. | - | - | 19-21 March 2021 |
| 33. | - | - | 23-25 March 2022 |
Political areas of the ANS
Foreign policy
Economy
The main economic sectors are industry and services, while agriculture accounts for only a small part of the ANS economy. Economic growth in the ANS between 2000 and 2010 averaged 2.8%. Within the ANS itself, Besmenia is the economically strongest member country and is responsible for 22% of ANS economic output (as of 2021). Elbresia followed in second place with 16%.
Currency
The norta is the official currency of the ANS. The currency was first issued on June 1, 2011 by the newly established Nortuan Central Bank. The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the ANS, although it is not mandated by the ANS Charter as being the sole official currency for each ANS member state, and as such most member states of the ANS utilize their own official currencies and keep norta as another acceptable currency.
Trade
Culture
Cultural policy
The goals of the cultural policy of the Alliance of Nortuan States are set out in the ANS Charter. They consist in complementing and supporting, through their activities, the actions of the member states in the cultural and creative fields. The aim is to improve knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the Nortuan peoples. The cultural heritage of Nortuan importance should be preserved and protected. The non-commercial cultural exchange as well as artistic and literary creation, also in the audiovisual field, should be promoted. The focus is on cultural diversity, which should be preserved. Cultural diversity means the diversity of cultural identities, languages, traditions, the diversity of different art forms, literature, theatre, visual arts, music, the diversity of cultural expressions and cultural heritage within the member states.
Cultural projects of the ANS
Symbols
Flag
The flag of the ANS consists of five equal horizontal stripes in the colors green and white. On the left, the stripes are covered by a green equilateral triangle. In the triangle there is a golden wreath in which there are five golden stars. The five stars represent the five founding members of the ANS. The two white stripes represent the two capitals of the ANS, Laitstadt and Allengin.
The flag was adopted in 1990 and was established as the official symbol of the alliance in revisions to the ANS Charter. In addition to the institutions of the ANS, many ANS member states also use the flag alongside their own national flag. For example, in most member states, the ANS flag is displayed on public buildings owned by federal and government agencies on flag days alongside their own national flag.
Relationship with other nations and organizations
Sotoan Basin Union
There is close cooperation in the areas of economy, defense and culture with the Sotoan Basin Union (SBU), which was founded in 1996 and is primarily active in West Nortua. For several years there have been efforts from both sides to merge the ANS and the SBU into an All-Nortuan intergovernmental organization.