Marianne didn't feel like waiting any longer, so she stood up to address the assembly and to gauge their interest in a radical idea of hers.
"Members of the Phoenix Union Parliament, allow me to introduce myself... I am Marianne Covington, sister of the late Stéphane the second, 16th Prince of Sil Dorsett, and aunt of Princesses Claidie and Alice. With the resignation of Regis Giquel as ambassador, I have been appointed acting ambassador for this session. My assignment is not permanent, and it's unlikely I'll be here next session.
"I apologize for the lack of colleagues in the surrounding seats, but we couldn't certify the results of the special election to replace the representatives that walked out last time. Why not? Low turnout. The
apathy for this union back home is so incredible that we had a
fourteen percent turnout. Now, I know what you're all thinking. 'Just leave already! Quit dragging this out!' you all might say. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to do two things: First, to find the reason that the principality should stay in this union, which to be honest with you... I already know the answer to that one. But, secondly, to fix the problem that makes our citizens demand that we leave. I already have the
solution to that one.
"Why is it that Dorsettian citizens want to leave the Union?
Fear. Fear that our sons and daughters could be dragged into wars we have no reason to be involved with. While stepping in to push back on simple imperialist conquest is an honorable use of the concept of collective defense, too often the threat of the activation of collective defense is used as cover to rattle sabers without fear of retribution, and it is because of such threats that our people have lost faith in the concept. We are no longer interested in being compelled to send troops abroad only to paint a bullseye on downtown Norvalle.
"It wasn't too long ago that when Ruskaland was threatened by Miedzymorze, The Grand Federation of Xentherida, a member of this union, a member of the Pan-Gotic Union, and a member of the
Trillium Compact declared that an attack against Ruskaland was an attack against Xentherida, and it appeared to threaten the invocation of the collective defense clauses in all three alliances. Would it have been right to force
any of our sailors and soldiers to take part in what was obviously a Xentheridan initiative? We say no. It should have been left up to individual states, and not made mandatory by dots of ink on printer paper.
"The solution is simple, and that is why I propose what I call the 'Omnibus Collective Defense Consent Bill'. It both amends the constitution and enacts a separate agreement, but they must be passed together. It reads as follows:"
Omnibus Collective Defense Consent Bill:
1. Article Four of the Phoenix Union Constitution is amended to read as follows:
Article 4 of the Phoenix Union Constitution:
Any attack by a non-Union member against a Phoenix Union member state is considered an attack against them all. This Constitution mandates that all member states take measures to defend the member state being attacked. However, the mutual defense obligation is only enacted if the attack against the member is unjustified.
If a member state attacks a non-member state, the other member states are not required to assist the member state attacking the non-member state. The courses of action of the other member states shall not be restricted by this Constitution, nor Parliament.
If the attack by the member state against the non-member state is purely aggressive and is not backed by sufficient reasoning, however, the sufficiency of which shall be judged by Parliament, Parliament may vote to deprive the aggressive member state in question of Phoenix Union membership.
If an attack by a member state against a member state is backed by sufficient reasoning, the sufficiency of which shall be judged by Parliament, the Union shall work to achieve peace between the two parties. However, the member state in question shall subsequently be called before Parliament for questioning, and, if found guilty of baseless aggression, or if they refuse to even come for questioning, they shall deprived of Phoenix Union membership.
2. The following agreement shall come into force:
Phoenix Union Collective Defense Agreement:
1. Any attack by a non-Union member against a Phoenix Union member state that is a signatory to this agreement is considered an attack against all signatories. This Agreement mandates that all signatories take measures to defend the signatory being attacked. However, the mutual defense obligation is only enacted if the attack against the signatory is unjustified.
2. Signatories to this agreement are not obligated to come to the defense of a non-signatory nation, nor can a non-signatory nation be compelled to come to the defense of a signatory or another non-signatory nation.
"This I believe would fix the problem. Thanks to Article 1 of the Constitution, moving the mutual defense clauses to a separate agreement would allow nations who do not feel comfortable with mutual defense agreements to opt-out of them, with the understanding that they would not be under the Phoenix Union's military protection. But, it would allow such nations to maintain the mutual economic benefits of membership. With that said, I yield the floor."