Artanian Union

The Artanian Union (AU) (Dorvish: Artanische Bund; Mothin: Apтaнската унија tr. Artanskata unija; Lorman: Artaniskas Uniōni) is a continental cooperation body whose aim is to protect the interests of its member states and to promote freedom and democracy throughout Artania. The Artanian Union differs from many other regional cooperation organizations in the sense that it permits in a variety of different ideologies and does not ask member states to give up their sovereignty in order for membership. The union was first founded in 3284 by members of the Democratic Party of Dorvik and their leader Trajan Petrov, who is considered the founder of the union. The Artanian Union underwent a massive reformation underneath the first President of the Artanian Union Kuzman Vasilev, a Dorvish member who reformed the union to make it stronger and more centralized.

The Artanian Union is led by an elected President who acts as the overall leader of the union and the Secretary-General, also elected who is responsible for management and operations of the union. The Artanian Union is currently headquartered in Schrudehofen in the founding nation of Dorvik. The Artanian Union Building is located there and serves as the offices of the President and the Artanian Council of Representatives. Currently there are 9 members, including Dorvik, the Imperial Commonwealth, Dundorf, the Holy Luthori Empire, Beluzia, Hobrazia, Aloria, Endralon and Rutania.

History
The idea of a continental union on Artania had been tried and failed numerous times however the history behind the failed attempts were because of a weak base of supporters in the nations where the idea came from. Trajan Petrov knew that Dorvik along with almost all other Artanian nations were dedicated to peace and security on their continent and sought to use this to his advantage. In late 3259 he begun to speak with citizens and politicians throughout Dorvik and eventually Artania about a coalition of nations for the betterment of the continent, it was here that he formed the basis of the Artanian Union.

Trajan first saw it as an economic cooperation union but eventually expanded the idea to encompass the promotion of fair and free government on Artania, realizing that an economic union would come with the formation of a supranational union. The Democratic Party of Dorvik eventually went on and disbanded before the idea was realized and it was picked up nearly 20 years later by the Dorvish Conservative Party and their leader Gotthilf Siegel with the help of the Dorvish Republicans and the Dorvish Foreign Minister, Emma Römer the ratification process of the Artanian Union came to fruition and Dorvik was joined by Rutania in the initial ratification process in late 3283. In the closing days of November 3283 the Beluzian national legislature brought forward the idea of ratification, making it the third nation to do so since the proposal of the treaty.

In October 3284 the People's Republic of Dorvik became the first member state of the Artanian Union with Beluzia close behind, Gotthilf Siegel acting Director-General was informed that the Rutanian ratification met serious opposition in their Parliament and the ratification is expected to fail. With Gotthilf Siegel being Acting Director-General he started out with a recruitment trip to attempt to bring new member states into the Union. In November 3284 Beluzia became the second state to ratify the treaty thus becoming a member state of the Artanian Union. The apparent surge in membership was short-lived however and after a monarchist coup in Beluzia, the party withdrew in favor of the harsher Alliance of Terran Republics. In April 3296 Gotthilf Siegel stepped down and Dominik Riese, a member of the Artanian Federal Democrats became the first elected Director-General of the Artanian Union while his longtime associate Magdalene Heidrich became Deputy Director-General. The two immediately laid a policy down for advancement in Artania.

The Artanian Union continued to struggle with membership until a revitalized effort by acting Director-General Wenzeslaus Rot of Dorvik. Through his efforts the nations of Darnussia and Rutania joined the Union and the first scheduled meeting of the Representative Council was planned. Rot has reached out to nations such as Beluzia and Luthori however each have rejected the Union as threats to their sovereignty. Rot has not ruled out Luthori entirely but Beluiza had fiercely criticized the organization.

On March 11th, 3498 Kuzman Vasilev, a member of the Dorvish Social Nationalist Party, was appointed acting Director-General of the Artanian Union by the emergency council ruling the union. Vasilev is a noted Dorvish internationalist and served as the DSNPs go-to guy for foreign policy, it was believed that he would take the position of foreign minister when the SNP returned to power but however denied the position and instead accepted the position as Director-General. Vasilev officially called the first ever session of the Artanian Representative Council with representatives from the Imperial Commonwealth, Endralon, Hobrazia, Rutania, Aloria and eventually Beluzia being invited. The meeting which took place from March to June 3500 was broken into four sessions one per month except in June when there was two.

Executive Council of the Artanian Union
The Executive Council of the Artanian Union is the "executive branch" of the Artanian Union. It is responsible for the proposal of legislation, implementing policies and decisions, upholding the charter of the union and the day-to-day management and running of the union. The Council is responsible for the overall thought of Artania and it's members are expected to remain apolitical in the overall structure of the union. The EC was introduced in 3500 by Kuzman Vasilev, the first President of the Artanian Union. The EC comprises the President of the Artanian Union, the Vice President of the Artanian Union and the members of the Commission of the Artanian Union. The Council takes the place of the Artanian Union Secretariat which was founded in October 3283.

Commission of the Artanian Union
The Commission of the Artanian Union can be likened to cabinets of other nations, however these commissioners are responsible for various sections of policy relating to the AU. The President of the Artanian Union also sits as the President of the Commission. The Commission was introduced in 3500 within the revised charter proposed by Kuzman Vasilev. The first commission being the Commission on Artanian and External Relations. The position remained unfilled for a month after its creation but the seats was eventually filled by a member of the Imperial Commonwealth.

Artanian Council of Representatives
The Artanian Council of Representatives also known as the Council of Artanian Representatives is the primary and "legislative" body of the Artanian Union. The Artanian Union is lead by the Secretary-General of the Artanian Representative Council. The main point behind the ACR is to help nations with whatever issues they are facing, the Artanian Union can be compared to a supranational legislature but its "resolutions" are not binding and members do not have to follow them if opposition it met on the home front of the nation.

The three permanent committees are responsible for the central administration of the Union. Committees may be created, disbanded or temporarily disbanded by a vote of the ACR during its sessions. The ACR operates three permanent committees which every member state of the Artanian Union has a representative on, they are as follows:
 * Governance and Rules Committee :: Responsible for general administration and betterment of the Artanian Council of Representatives and the Union as a whole.
 * Artanian Economic-Budget Committee :: Responsible for the general financials and membership fees of the Artanian Council of Representatives and the Union as a whole.
 * Membership Committee :: Responsible for the acceptance, denial, re-entry and suspension of all who wish to join or re-join the Artanian Union.

Political groups
Since the inception of the Artanian Union, the Artanian Federal Democrats have been the premier leader in the development and control of the Artanian Union. In 3389 the Democratic Socialist of Artania was founded as a catch-all supranational party for democratic socialist and center-left politics. With the revision of the charter in 3500, the representatives from the Imperial Commonwealth stated that supranational political parties were an issue and President Vasilev revised the charter, with approval from the representatives, that political groups were permitted to exist but not as formal supranational political parties, though they have kept the same structure and format and effectively operate as supranational political parties.

The political groups function as organizations representing individual political parties within the Artanian Council of Representatives. The Artanian political parties are not quite as popular as they were at the foundation of the union, however President Foth seeks to grow the Artanian parties as much as he can to begin a permanent entrenchment of Artanian politics within the ACR.

Objectives
The Charter of the Artanian Union outlines three essential goals to the organization, they are:
 * Promotion of Freedom.
 * Promotion of Democracy.
 * Tolerance of governing systems outside of democracy.

Funding
The current funding for the organization is currently in the millions due to donations from various political organizations throughout Dorvik as well as having the political support from the Artanian Federal Democrats. Exact figures have yet to be released as the organization is in its infant stages.