The European Federation

**Currency** | * Euro

After the collapse of the short lived European Continental Army and the EU that it supported at the start of the war, the continent quickly fragmented itself into a number of smaller states, unable to maintain the robust networks of transit and communication necessary to support a larger state. This left only a handful of countries under the equally scarce banners of what effective national governments remained.

Over time, many of these smaller nation states such as Germany, the reborn British Parliamentary Republic, and the Scandinavian Federation began the long and difficult process of rebuilding critical infrastructure, industrial capacity, and ravaged urban and economic centers with the support of suit factions like Hanse Behörde. Despite this 'grace period' many European nations were still left ravaged by the Vannai's firebombing campaigns that left millions dead and laid waste to much of the equipment and material that would be necessary to rebuild.

Over the proceeding years, the remaining functional countries began to consolidate power over central Europe. Foremost among these was Germany that, with the backing of Hanse, began a number of peacekeeping actions in an effort to assist in the war by securing European borders and ensuring that food and manpower critical to ACC and other European nations would continue to find it's way to where it needed to be. This period was marked by mass rearmament by Germany, the British Republic, and the Scandinavian Federation, with most other European nations unable to contribute on account of either wide-scale destruction or continuing hostilities with Vannai Puppets.

This culminated in a campaign undertaken by the Bundeswehr in 2016 to pacify France, which prior to this point had been in a state of near constant civil war, as disparate groups with tenuous connection to the past government attempted to fight over leadership of the nation. Hanse encouraged this action, and offered to provide support to the peacekeeping forces as they attempted to impose some sort of law and order on the country. However, as this simple action quickly devolved into a nationwide riot, Hanse was left unable to render any meaningful assistance without deploying suits against armed civilian mobs. The Bundeswehr, and by extension the rest of the German government, felt this to be a betrayal at the hands of the group that was supposed to be protecting them, and as the war became more and more bloody, the German Bundestag began to distance themselves from Hanse in an effort to avoid direct public backlash.

This event quickly crystallized many of the founding tenants of the Federalist movement, and showed both the German people, and Europe at large, that ACC was not as trustworthy as they might've been led to believe. This, in conjunction with the Anglo-German alliance of late 2015 laid the groundwork for the Federation as it exists today.

By 2018, the German, British, and Scandinavian forces were experienced in combat against Vannai Puppets and other contemporary military powers, and were engaging in small to large scale conflicts across continental Europe with the final aim of installing 'democratically' elected and stable governments that would support the European powers in the event of either a renewed Vannai invasion or a potential ACC backed invasion, while also helping to acquire greater supplies of manpower and material to fund the ongoing reconstruction efforts.

During this period of time, many European nations were reestablished with pro-Federalist leaders, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Spain and Portugal (reformed into the Iberian Protectorate), Italy, and the Low Countries (reformed into the Grootneerlandisme, or more commonly, Dietsland). These smaller nations were often reliant on the likes of the BPR and Germany for military and industrial power, but would regardless come to be key members of the Federation.

The formation of the Federation came about shortly after the first democratic French election since the pacification. The weeks leading up to the election were absolute chaos, as the Federalists, Hanse, and anarchist groups all attempted to either rig or sabotage the election for their ends. After SOE agents succeeded in the destruction of many ballot boxes, Federalist agents were able to plant entirely fake boxes in counting rooms, and proceeded to rush through many of the normal checks in order to get the Federalist's pick for the Presidents office in power as quickly as possible.

This was the first instance of Federalist forces actively opposing ACC, and left Hanse with few options to respond that wouldn't also expose their own meddling in the elections, thereby giving the Federalists more ammunition. Unable to do anything but watch, the long planned formation of the Federation occurred on the first of February, 2019 with little effective opposition from Hanse.

## Political Governance

### European Parliament

The European Federation is controlled by the European Parliament, an elected body of 412 representatives known as MEPs, or Members of European Parliament, who each account for roughly 1 million European citizens, who then vote on laws, measures, and fulfill the responsibilities required of a Parliament. Effectively, the power of the Parliament is subservient to the will of the High Chancellor of the Parliament, who has the power to veto almost any decision made by Parliament, and to whom high ranking military personnel directly pledge loyalty to as the executor of the Federation's will. In theory, the High Chancellor is to be elected by a new Parliament as their first action upon the formation of a new government after the previous government's five year term is up. However, as the Federation has barely existed in it's current form for more than a few ~~weeks~~ months, this has not yet come to pass.

Though Parliament are left with the task of making laws, their implementation falls to the Ministries, who oversee government projects and ensure the enforcement of Federal law. The Ministries are, as you would expect, themselves overseen by their respective Ministers. A given Minister is not elected, and instead is chosen (usually from the members of their Ministry) by the High Chancellor. As the High Chancellor is elected by Parliament, and the High Chancellor chooses the Ministers, it's generally accepted that the political leaning of a Ministry will generally align to that of the Parliament.

### Local Government

The Federation is split into 438 Provinces, each of which may have slight variation in local laws or directives. This effectively ensures that Parliament can legislate independently of cultural concerns and local quirks, though the end goal of the Federalist Party is to eliminate many of these quirks over a number of years. The European Federation is similarly split into 412 voting districts (distinct from *Provinces*, as voting districts do not necessarily fall along the same lines as the similar number of Provinces) which each elect a single MEP. In theory, each voting district contains roughly a million European citizens, however this is often not the case. Whether this disparity comes through gerrymandering or the desire to see certain areas of importance to the Federation gain more political power is a hotly debated topic, though gerrymandering is the likely culprit.

In this system, the local governments of previous states often continue to exist, albeit only as shells of their previous selves. Equally often, the power of the state is completely subordinated to Federal rule. These ex-nations are closer to a unitary state, with the Federation directly governing them as a national government. The public's view on this practice varies from place to place, with many nation's populace viewing it with nationalistic vigor in light of shared wars with other European powers, while other nations view the growing control of the Federation and the European Parliament as an encroachment on their national pride.

### Political Parties

Currently, the Federalist Party holds the majority of the seats in Parliament, and the head of the Federalist Party, Norman Van Der Meyde holds the office of High Chancellor. The Federalist Party favours autarkist and expansive policies in economics and military affairs. In diplomatic affairs, the Federalist Party remains hostile towards suit-based factions, and tacitly supportive of other non-suit factions. The Federalist Party was formed from a myriad of early-post-fall political groups who aimed to break from ACC and form a European Superstate. Federalist propaganda tends to push European nationalism, holding continental Europe up as the cradle of modern culture and the birthplace of nations.

The second most powerful party is the Unionist Party who, in contrast to the Federalists, favour a weaker Federal rule, and a less direct rule over the European states. The Unionist Party favours economically conservative policies, though unlike the Federalists, is more open to stronger trade links to AMC, ACC, and the Russians. The Unionist Party isn't officially diplomatically opposed to ACC or suit based factions, though due to the overall opinion of ACC among the general population they are unable to forward any policies that might be seen as doing anything to help ACC. The Unionist Party is primarily formed from pre-fall politicians and the more moderate elements of the proto-Federalists.

A number of smaller parties control less than 10 seats in European Parliament, and more still control only a few seats. These smaller parties often tend to be breakaways from the two larger parties and tend to vote along the same lines as either the Federalists or the Unionists. Some more radical parties may vote erratically, though their small number of seats prevents them from having any wide scale effect.

## Current Policy

Most of the current policy is directed by the Federalist Party, and Federalist sympathizers in various Ministries. Though there is some degree of variation on a local level, much of the higher level policy is universal across the whole Federation.

### Military

 File:EUF Command Structure.png
The Federal military is currently focused on continuing to secure European borders from Vannai Puppets, and preparing for any possible conflict against human suit factions. Above all else the Federal military prioritizes defensive works, and seeks to harden lines of communication and logistics, while also supporting the Federation's powerful military aviation industry in an effort to ensure the security of European airspace.

The Federal military is one of the largest sources of military expenditure, consuming almost 20% of the Federation's yearly budget. However, much of the military's budget is indirectly or directly used to to fund the reconstruction of factories and lines of logistics such as railways and intercontinental highways. Notably, Federal military funds were used to repair the Eurostar tunnel.

### Economic

The Federation engages in state capitalism to help reinvigorate the European economy, secure control of vital industries, and to help manage the prices of food and other essential commodities directly. The Federation is highly supportive of any start-up businesses, and provides crucial funding for small and medium sized businesses. The Federation claims the right to absorb bankrupt businesses, and to restructure or dissolve them at will.

Foreign banks are explicitly not allowed to operate on European soil, and instead the Federal Bank, under control of the Ministry of the Exchequer, provides the services that would be expected of both a national treasury and a common bank.

The Federation provides economic support to those in need, and provides food and housing to the homeless. The Federation also offers many courses, free of charge, in a variety of trades or sciences that they feel that they many have use for.