Join the new world

Twelve consecutive terms later as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and here I am, writing my last article as MoFA! This may come as a surprise to some, and others might have expected after 1 year as MoFA I will be changing it up; we cannot wait for the game to change, and therefore, it is time for me to change and shake things up. I have been playing this game for over a year now and spent the majority of it In Belgium, I have grown, and more importantly, Belgium has had a successful and diplomatic history of foreign affairs during my terms as MoFA.

Before i get into the details of the article, as i know many Belgians will criticize the article, my work in belgium, and my Third Country President Term (ignoring the whole point of the article) I have decided to address it first. Although elected to a third term as Country President, i was unable to fulfil my term. Due to personal reasons i was not active in the game (of course as much of a commitment i felt to Belgium, real life is my first priority). I do not owe anyone an explanation, and if i feel the need i will tell to TRUSTED friends. My activity in total has declined but i have been planning on publishing this for a while. So here goes!



The following paragraph is a brief introduction about Belgian foreign affairs and foreign affairs in general before my personal analysis and history of the course of Belgian foreign affairs.

To me, foreign affairs is one of the aspects that keeps me going In this game; it turns the New World around and around and is an extremely interesting concept in the game. Belgium is a small country; this is a fact, not a opinion. Especially in Belgium's current state, the only way to survive is to have a responsible foreign affairs policy, and protected borders. Both of these lead to having reliable and loyal allies. Especially in Belgium's situation, in a world of damage there is something called brotherhood. Some might judge the meaning of this, the function of each relation, but to me, some of the relations Belgium held were a brotherhood.

When you think of a small country’s function in eRep, it is often overlooked. Most think they don't have a function, an eventual PTO colony, or a spot on the map of resources for a neighbouring beast. But occasionally a small country does have a function in the New World. But at the same time, foreign affairs of small countries are often overlooked as being insignificant not worth the time of bigger countries. I believe Belgium found this function a stable and relatable ally.

Please note, this article is my personal views and not the views of the Belgian government. This article is not meant to bring back any past disputes or conflicts, and if you choose to ignore this notice then it's your own fault. World peace!



When I arrived in Belgium, September 3rd to be exact the Belgian relations with the United Kingdom where rocky, which is quite ironic when you look at our history and current situation. Kaad, who was the current MoFA of Belgium at the time, and the Military Commander of the Circle of Trust (Belgium's alliance at the time) had Belgium on behalf of CoT (and HQ) prepare a airstrike on a proposed TWO/ACT nation, to aid the failing CoT and her members. UK being at peace and a founder of TWO, declared war on Belgium to protect their allies before Belgium could propose the airstrike. The upcoming days were harsh, being wiped, CoT fighting on every front, and both governments having communication problems on agreeing to a peace treaty, eventually the end result being the Treaty of Namur.



During the month of October, the infamous wipe started, lasting a total of 5 terms. Belgium has, still is, and might always be at risk of a PTO. Due to the growing PTO in Belgium; during September, the current president, MaryamQ, took dire action in one of the most courageous actions someone has done In Belgium. Enacting the wipe, with coordination from CoT and Poland, with a cover up of assisting our CoT ally Indonesia who was being attacked by Poland, drawing away damage from the Indonesian front. Belgium NEed Poland, who wiped Belgium before congress, giving Belgium the ability to not have congress and therefore, no illegal citizenship acceptances aiding the PTO threat. Poland was picked for the wipe for two reasons: one, due to alliance reasons, it would put Belgium in an awkward situation to ask a CoT ally to attack and wipe Belgium while CoT needed all the damage they could get. Secondly, Poland was the most powerful neighbor of Belgium, enabling them to keep Belgium occupied at little effort.

*Earlier in the month, during Party President elections, the United States assisted the Belgian population with ATO actions. It was decided later that Belgium would be wiped with a select group of trusted citizens in Belgium.

[img]http://oi59.tinypic.com/vzve6w.jpp[/img]


The final days of CoT where expected; the only question was when. When Chile proposed to leave, it caused a domino effect throughout CoT, each country proposing to leave including Belgium. In my humble opinion the Treaty of Namur was more beneficial than anyone would realize at the current moment. Having just come out of a war with the United Kingdom and without an alliance, Belgium needed stable, protective, peaceful, and friendly neighbors. The treaty binded Belgium to the United Kingdom, and with the will of the people the, relations flourished. After the collapse of CoT and the huge dominance of TWO over the eWorld, Belgium went back to neutrality as Belgium has a tendency to have a neutral foreign affairs policy. Being neutral gave Belgium the ability to improve relations with all nations whom Belgium wants to be have relations with, ex CoT, TWO nations and especially Belgium's neighbors (The UK/Poland)




With neutrality, Belgium started deciding what to do in terms of foreign affairs. Most Belgians who participated in discussions agreed Belgium should become closer with The United Kingdom and Poland while keeping our old allies from CoT. Due to Belgium's current ATO occupation; forging a good relationship with Poland was a wise idea; especially when Belgium would need to be un wiped for determination, communication was key. The strategical location of both the UK and Poland as Belgium's neighbors was key for protecting Belgium from external threat against larger enemies and protecting Belgium's borders. Our relationship flourished over time, becoming a little brother-big brother relationship. Belgium helped out when we could.

In November, in order to get closer with both the United Kingdom and Poland, unable to have an MPP with Poland and while having a MPP with the United Kingdom while we could (due to economic reason and liberation of the wipe). The Belgian government decided to improve relations with the UK and Poland by becoming closer with their allies. We decided to build bridges through Hungary and Spain. Hungary did not really want to build relations, so the month of November, along with other tasks and diplomatic affairs, was spent signing an MPP with Spain to forge a relationship with Spain and work alongside Spain, Poland and the UK.



This eventually led to the war against France. Although Belgium did not actually declare war, we fully supported UK, Spain and Poland in invading France from all directions, Belgium made a stand against France, who made demands upon Belgium for territory to escape the invasion.

In all reality, Belgium could not provide that much help militarily, as is a problem of foreign affairs in most small countries. Belgium did its best to help in small ways, economically, and often going out of the way to improve relations. When Chewie stole money from the eUK in his 'plot', Belgium did its best to provide for the eUK, lending a hand for donations of food and cash to the eUK NHS. Lending a hand in small times is just as impactful and memorable as battles. A statement of friendship was later created between the United Kingdom and Belgium, to commemorate our friendship.



The Chocolate Unification treaty was re created in January to recognize that diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Belgium will prosper through mutual cooperation, that both nations will continue to pursue free and democratic systems, against the threat of PTO and cooperation for immigration. The treaty was originally created during the year of BrunoCND, with tommot as MoFA and recreated in January. The treaty led to the creation of the joint investigation committee, which was active for some time in cooperating towards immigration and cooperation in ATO missions.



On day 2284 of the New World, the eNetherlands for the second time in a row proposed Belgium as their natural enemy. The first attempt was a rogue one that was too premature and was (barely) voted down. The second natural enemy on Belgium was proposed by the Country President of The Netherlands, and this one passed. This attack on Belgium by the Netherlands was an overreaction due to prior actions by the NL government involving diplomatic officials in Belgium and Netherlands, and certain individuals in the Dutch government supporting PTO actions in Belgium. At the time, by request of the Belgian government, the United Kingdom was in the process of wiping Belgium for ATO measures. Netherlands was seen as a huge threat to Belgian security because of the PTO threat by mainly Balkan citizens.

The natural enemy endangered Belgium for the reason if The Netherlands took and lost a region,it would give Belgium congress when we were intentionally not trying to have a congress due to the threat of a PTO. Fortunately, thanks to the timing of the battle of Flanders, due to the amazing coordination by the United Kingdom and Belgium, the United Kingdom beat the Netherlands to Wallonia, blocking them from access to Belgium, therefore, forcing Netherlands to drop the natural enemy. Later on, Germany declared Netherlands natural enemy for various purposes, including because of the Dutch government’s support to Belgian PTOers.



Sirius was crafted this month, along with Asteria. Countries had been showing 'sides' in the upcoming mainly bipolar world. Since the collapse of CoT and while being in CoT, Belgium has held and will continue to hold good relations with The United Kingdom and Poland. Our relations have continued to prosper and blossom over the past half a year. Belgium chose going for Sirius over Aurora for two main reasons. Sirius had 2 of Belgium's neighbors and closest allies in the alliance, so it was extremely logical with our current foreign affairs stance to follow Poland and UK whether it be in the alliance or ProSirius. Secondly most feared Aurora would be CoT #2, due to this fact Belgium did not go with the founding countries or Aurora and went with Sirius.



Belgium received an air strike from the Republic of Moldova right after the scare from the Netherlands. A lot of speculation about the purpose of the air strike was because of the strategic location of Belgium in regards to Poland and the United Kingdom. Moldova unfortunately landed successfully, and the government tried to liberate Brussels once all our regions were conquered, Although Belgium lost the initial resistance war/ battle it was still epic. Immediately, once again, The United Kingdom came to Belgium's rescue and passed a Natural Enemy against Moldova, and with the help of Belgium's allies, Moldova was on their way home. On day 2302, Moldova was officially removed from Belgium's regions. A Poland attack on Moldova in Flanders and 2 additional resistance wars secured Belgium, and enabled Belgium to continue to assist the United Kingdom in their efforts against LETO, and Moldova. Belgium had huge help from all of Sirius and Aurora, signing 6 MPPs with Spain, Turkey, The United Kingdom, Poland. Macedonia and Croatia, most likely a record time high of MPPs for the small country in recent history.


This month, Belgium decided to focus on Venezuela. During this past month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked a handful of active soldiers, military commanders and the Ministry of Defense to give full support to Venezuela, to show Belgium's pride and power on the battlefield as well as support to our ally and brother. Like the past and the present, Venezuela shared the same enemy, ePortugal. The history of their relations started in 2011, when Portugal occupied Venezuela for 6 months, denying them congress. At that point in time of Venezuelan history, the relations between these two countries had never been great. During this month, Venezuela started the war against Portugal, but the reasons for the war are not exactly clear. The executive government was still discussing whether or not to pass the Natural Enemy while congress wound up approving it. Like the recent past and the the very far past, our relations have been built upon over time, and like a few relations, they sometimes fade, but our relations are strong now and will be strong in the future. In the past the relations between Venezuela and Belgium started in 2010, over the years Belgium fought hard and long for Venezuela against many enemies including Portugal, and they for us in our conflicts and against the Netherlands. As seen in the past, history often repeats itself. Belgium was fighting against Portugal for Venezuela, and Venezuela fought for Belgium against Pakistan.



Belgium and the Netherlands decided to create a NAP/Momentum of understanding to improve relations and refresh them. Our relations with the Netherlands were hostile in the past due to the following reasons:

Tensions between members of both governments, hostile actions of members of the Dutch government towards Belgium
Netherlands closing the Belgian Embassy on their forums
Multiple NE threats from Netherlands upon belgium
Members of the Dutch government supporting PTO attempts and PTO players in Belgium.

Throughout the previous months the relations between the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germarkian union and Belgium greatly improved, as well as the region’s defense during the Triple Invasion of the United Kingdom led by The Republic of China, Norway and France as the United Kingdom just came out of war against Pakistan, who made an air strike against Belgium. Pakistan decided to air strike Belgium, a smaller nation in population and damage output. Belgium, during my time as MoFA, has endured 2 air strikes by those who see Belgium as a weaker target, one to be taken advantage of. There was a lot of controversy with the air strike due to the stupidity of the former Pakistan government, who informed Belgium's neighbors, including the United Kingdom and Poland, prior to the air strike, requesting a NAP and stating their intentions of air striking Belgium. Of course, as allies of Belgium, both countries informed Belgium. Once Pakistan landed, they informed their allies, such as Argentina and Serbia, they had a NAP with the surrounding countries. Many countries allied with Pakistan out of respect to the United Kingdom asked the UK why they were violating the NAP, it had to be explained there was no NAP, but a hoax by the Pakistani government. The overall air strike was very dirty. Belgium, with our allies, especially the UK, who declared Pakistan as Natural Enemy, eliminated Pakistan from Europe and sent them back to their homeland.



After Pakistan was sent home, France and Norway NEed The United Kingdom. In return Belgium, Germany, and the UK all NEed France and The Netherlands led the attack against Norway, cutting off Norway's access to the United Kingdom. The war was very successful in favor of Belgium and our allies. From there on, all 4 countries held a joint strike, uniting our military forces for Italy (a common ally). The results were powerful and intense in the battlefield, as seen in the the post strike results and impact we had on the battlefield. All countries decided to secure our prosperity and friendship into the future and worked hard towards the end of the strike to sign a regional defense pact protecting the North Sea region from attack against any enemy. The pact is known as the North Sea Protection Pact. Every month now the countries who signed the North Sea pact assist each other in defense and hold a strike every month.











During the Summer time not a lot happened in Belgium, we had Two different Country Presidents Thanatos The Magnificent, and Director 9 both took different approaches to how the country should be run but not a lot happened in terms of Foreign Affairs. The only main action of the month was domestic and the planning of a training war with Poland.



Some might deny it but it has been known for a while, Belgium had been in decline besides from the game declining in population it has hit belgium especially hard with the threat of a PTO. Belgium will always be threatened by a PTO. The struggle between the Opposition and the PTOers will last until one is completely victorious. If those in belgium are still in denial, all hope is lost and it has been lost you are just postponing the inevitable.



Throughout the months Belgium has formed bonds with many countries, rekindled friendships and although a few were lost upon the way i am proud to say Belgium truly had some of the best allies during my time as Minister of Foreign Affairs. To those i worked with, it was a honor to do so.
The United Kingdom - a Big Brother to Belgium, although not a superpower of the New World our relationship prospered overtime and The United Kingdom was truly one of the greatest allies of Belgium.
Poland - Our Neighbour almost all of the time, although a superpower always made time for belgium and was willing to listen and protect Belgium when needed. They were the greatest help to the ATO Effort.
Macedonia - Macedonia was always a huge help to Belgium, and made a huge impact on the battlefield. They are passionate, and proud people and always willing to lend a hand to help when Belgium was in need.
Netherlands - Although this might be a surprise to others and is a surprise to me, the Netherlands have become a stable reliable country to belgium and a reliable ally. Although our relationship is a roller coaster, our willingness to work together and help one another out is a meaningful part of the relationship.



Other Great Allies of Belgium include...
Germany
Switzerland
Venezuela
Albania
United States

Lastly I would like to thank all of those who I have worked with over the years in Belgium and across the globe!

- Mr. Wonka
Country President of Belgium for Three terms
Minister of Foreign Affairs for One year (12 terms)