The Challenge:
On 13th December 2007, due to an 'administrative error' – or, as some Eurosceptics muttered darkly, deliberate sabotage by Eurocrats – the version of the Lisbon Treaty signed by the heads of state of the European Union was not the version that had previously been presented and discussed, but a draft including sweeping changes to the organisation and structure not only of the EU itself, but also the member states. No one noticed the substitution until the treaty had come into force on 1st December 2009.
Two extra articles had a particular impact:
firstly, all official business of the European Union would henceforth be conducted in Latin, as the only truly common language of the continent, beginning immediately with written business, and extending to debate and meetings within 2 years;
and secondly, to ease the problems of administration and organisation with 27 member states of vastly different sizes and populations, the EU would from 1st January 2010 be split into 50 states of approximately equal size. This meant, naturally, that in some cases territories would be aggregated together to reach the appropriate size, and in the larger (former) states new states would be formed by splitting up the existing state
This week's challenge: devise a flag for the new European state of Insulae Mediterraneae consisting of the following: Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic islands, including all small islands off the shores of these islands
This poll will close on July 12th at midnight GMT.
On 13th December 2007, due to an 'administrative error' – or, as some Eurosceptics muttered darkly, deliberate sabotage by Eurocrats – the version of the Lisbon Treaty signed by the heads of state of the European Union was not the version that had previously been presented and discussed, but a draft including sweeping changes to the organisation and structure not only of the EU itself, but also the member states. No one noticed the substitution until the treaty had come into force on 1st December 2009.
Two extra articles had a particular impact:
firstly, all official business of the European Union would henceforth be conducted in Latin, as the only truly common language of the continent, beginning immediately with written business, and extending to debate and meetings within 2 years;
and secondly, to ease the problems of administration and organisation with 27 member states of vastly different sizes and populations, the EU would from 1st January 2010 be split into 50 states of approximately equal size. This meant, naturally, that in some cases territories would be aggregated together to reach the appropriate size, and in the larger (former) states new states would be formed by splitting up the existing state
This week's challenge: devise a flag for the new European state of Insulae Mediterraneae consisting of the following: Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic islands, including all small islands off the shores of these islands
This poll will close on July 12th at midnight GMT.