Ave, Sandum Citizens!
The Office of the Sôgmô has announced that it has been in negotiations with the leaders of Ashukovo, Austenasia, and Renasia. Originally for an intermicronational summit in Saint Josephsburg, Ashukovo, that would have brought together Sandus, Renasia, Gremmia, Austenasia, and Ashukovo, the Saint Josephsburg Economic Pact (SJEP) has taken prominence in the diplomacy between the four states of Sandus, Renasia, Austenasia, and Ashukovo since the Sôgmô announced he would be unable to attend the Summit due to transportation problems and the national holiday of LGBT Pride Week. The Summit will continue to take place between representatives of Renasia, Gremmia, Austenasia, and Ashukovo on XXVII Iunio (27 June) in Saint Josephsburg at the residence of the Prime Minister of Ashukovo Joseph Kennedy.
The Economic Pact that will be formed at the Summit is the visionary work of Kuri Kabanov, the Chancellor of Renasia, and Sandus will join following its formal creation. The Saint Josephsburg Economic Agreement (SJEA) formally creates the Pact with articles on mutual recognition and non-aggression, free trade, the establishment of a customs union, mutual recognition of national currencies, the creation of a common market, and regulations pertaining to labour and labelling of products. The Agreement concludes with the establishment of the Pact and the Pact’s Council (SJEC) as well as the formation of the rotating presidency of the Pact. In the future, all economic agreements between non-members and members of the Pact will have to be accepted by the Pact as a whole.
“The Pact is the most recent development of work of Sandum diplomacy and intermicronational efforts to better the situation of micronations and of micronational citizens,” according to the Sôgmô. Ashukov Prime Minister Joseph Kennedy stated that, “This could very well be the most important intermicronational treaty our community has ever seen. I look forward to the Saint Josephsburg Summit and the signing of the Saint Josephsburg Economic Agreement, a partnership between four of the most well renowned and economically powerful micronations in our community will be extremely beneficial to all parties involved.”
The SJEP is, as far as I know, a one of a kind agreement in the micronational world. Free trade agreements have existed before; these aren’t particularly hard to make, and unfortunately it doesn’t seem like they’ve stimulated micronational economies very much. We’ve also of course had a myriad of “micronational European Union”s, which were little more than political unions with a common currency. Many of the most famous micronations have had decent success with economic trade, but their market is mainly to macronational citizens interested in baronies or medals or whatever else micronations may have to offer.
This treaty, however, seems to be the first affirmation of and multilateral effort to encourage intermicronational trade. This is a pretty decent market that has strangely never even been really considered by micronations when planning their economic policies.
The harmonisation of educational institutions and of product labelling in the treaty are also, in my opinion, unprecedented (in the micronational world) steps to encourage the sharing of information and marketing of products and services. Even if this turns out to be a failed venture (which I consider unlikely), the experience will allow us to know what sort of economic policies are beneficial and which not.”
– Renasian Chancellor Kabanov
The new SJEP will likely become the basis of future work between Sandus and its Socilivançae partners. In the future, future Socilivae states will be required to be observers – at the least – of the SJEA, as Sociliva citizenship provides economic rights in Sandus that can bind Socilivançae to Sandus in economic affairs. A future agreement may be discussed to provide the same political and social rights that Sandus extends to Socilivae to all Pact members, thus making the entirety of the Pact the equivalent of a Socilivo-status holding union in Sandus and making the Pact’s political and social rights mutual on all member-states. The necessity of such a future agreement will be considered by the SJEC after the formal establishment of the Pact on XXVII Iunio MMXIV (27 June 2014).
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