European Union (H5N1Z)

Introduction

The European Union is a multinational body of European States. As of the 2009 ratification of the European Union Constitution, its main offices are based in Germany and the European Parliament also holds its sessions there. It represents itself worldwide as one of the Permanent UN Security Council seats replacing the United Kingdom and France since its devastation to the H5N1Z virus. Its member states continue to hold individual seats at the UN as before, although the question of whether the European Union should now be recognised as only one Country is now being debated.

As the origin of the H5N1Z virus, the European Union has suffered the most from the outbreak. An Estimated 120 Million people have died either of the virus or as a result of the virus in the UK, France and Ireland alone. Significant numbers in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have also died in relation to H5N1Z, but with high emigration figures it is hard to determine how many. Italy, with a population in 2010 of over 65 million including migrants and asylum seekers left the EU on July 6th 2005 as a result of internal pressure to bolster national defences and as a political attack against EU incompetence over the handling of the virus.

Szczecin Agreement

Due to the outbreak, the Schengen Area had become redundant and a new Area was created out of the safe countries. This was ratified under the Szczecin Agreement in 2006 and became known as the Szczecin Zone. As infection was known in Belgium and the Netherlands, they were left out of the Agreement much to their annoyance, believing it was an attempt to shut them off to deal with the problem alone. States further away such as Portugal and Spain were also left out due to distance and politics.

Crossing through into the Szczecin Zone requires some form of Identification Papers or Passport, along with medical check-up if arriving in any form other than a scheduled flight. As the virus can linger and act almost like regular flu, people entering with illness have often tried to enter through illegal means or attempting to cover up symptoms. It is believed security forces, particularly on the French-German border have regularly fired upon illegal migrants with deadly results.

2009 European Union Constitution

In response to the continuing crisis, the "Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE)" was reworked, having being stalled in late 2004-early 2005 by the crisis and internal politics. A new treaty, simply titled "European Union Constitution" bound together several previous treaties into one document, as well as putting emphasis on border controls, human trafficking, healthcare and policing. This was often criticised by opponents particularly in the political fringes as being less about human dignity and respect and more about crackdowns, Government control and tempering outbreaks of the infection.

With Spain in internal political turmoil and regular cases of infection, Germany and Poland have stepped up to become the European Union's main political and economic leaders. Together they make up a great deal of the European Union's unaffected Population, Geography and Capital. Because of this, outside of Europe the EU is sometimes referred to as the "German-Polish Union", and often degradingly when used by Western Europeans in reference for their lack of support over the H5N1Z issue.

Member States

Member States by Membership, listed with population in thousands (estimated at 1st of January 2010, total including Candidates and Governments in Exile: 386.6 Million).

• Full Membership - Total Population approx: 275 Million
  • Szczecin Zone (Free Movement) - Total Population approx: 201.4 Million
    • Austria - 8,365
    • Czech Republic - 10,483
    • Denmark - 5,542
    • Estonia - 1,352
    • Finland - 5,420
    • Germany - 88,575
    • Hungary - 10,353
    • Latvia - 2,410
    • Lithuania - 3,541
    • Poland - 45,920
    • Slovakia - 6,003
    • Slovenia - 2,701
    • Sweden - 10,743
  • Others (Limited Movement) - Total Population approx: 73.6 Million
    • Belgium - 8,214
    • Cyprus - 799
    • Greece - 10,872
    • Luxembourg - 301
    • Malta - 476
    • Netherlands - 10,289
    • Portugal - 9,823
    • Spain - 32,864
• Partial Membership - Estimated Population: 111.6 Million
  • Government-in-Exile - Highest Estimate: 2.2 Million
    • France - Unknown, believed to be less than 1,500
    • Ireland - Unknown, believed to be less than 200
    • United Kingdom - Unknown, believed to be less than 500
  • Candidates - Total Population approx: 109.4 Million
    • Bulgaria - 7,582
    • Croatia - 4,621
    • Romania - 22,933
    • Turkey - 74,261

As of 2010, Italy is the only country to leave the EU, although Greenland as a territory had before.