First of all, we would like to thank Leidestrad for hosting this summit. It is great to be enjoying the hospitality of the leidestrad residents again.

We would like to remind all the participants of this summit that two big projects began to be planned in our region and a third one is in the thought stage: The Trans-Balkan Supertrain Project, the HRES-Mediterranean Pipeline, and the Balkan "Magistrala" Highway, proposed by New Jugoslavia.

1. The Trans-Balkan supertrain railway has proved to be as very popular idea. The plan is now to start the railway from Annoyastan and extend it all the way to the Byzanthine city of Dorylaeum.

This main railway will later extend with several "branches".

We invite all interested nations that are not yet part of this project to officially declare their desire to participate.

We also invite all participating nations to come together and create a well-structured consortium that would first build and then manage or oversee the management of this railway.

2. The The HRES-Mediterranean Oil Pipeline is an easier project and construction may start as soon as Nicaea agrees to participate. The Pipeline will carry oil from the HRES oil fields to the mediterranean Sea. Since the transportation cost of the HRES oil is going to decrease, the price of HRES oil may also decrease -- which, in turn may help all our economies.

3. The Balkan "Magistrala" Highway has the potential to become much more important than the supertrain railway. The supertrain is, after all, mainly for passengers, wehereas the highway will be for anything that can be transported.

I would like to know how much interest there is for these two projects, and I look forward to the responses of other delegation leaders.

Demosthenes Yagcioglu, President of Thracia.

We are indeed interested in these other two ideas. Where will this highway start and end? We think that this highway will be very much appreciated by all because of the better transportation costs and ease of transportation itself. We are not sure about the oil pipeline though. Will the oil tankers leave Nicea and then go to all of the other country's ports? Although we are confused about the pipeline, we are still interested in the proposals.

We are interested in both ideas. The Balkan "Magistrala" is highly needed to better the connections between our nations. As for the oil pipeline, it will surely lead to a decrease in price and more countries will be able to receive oil from HRES.

Let me give you some more information about the oil pipeline:

It will start in the European Soviets(HRES), in area 30 in our map (http://dimostenis.home.att.net/nationstates.gif), it will go through Anient Races (49), through 41 (former Anhinga/Abramius), through Nicaea, and it will end in the HRES enclave of HRES in the Mediterranean Sea coast.

HRES is building a large port in its enclave. This port will be accessible to oil tankers from all Balkan countries and from all over the world.

Well, what about nations that don't have access to the port, like nations that don't even have access to any water at all, for instance?

Yugoslovenia makes a good point with regard to the land-locked nations.

It should be up to the nations with access to the sea to give some special privileges in their ports to their land locked neighbors.

(OOC: actually there is an international principle in this effect. I may have read it in the 1982 Treaty on the Law of the Sea -- but I'm not sure).

Montfortslavia finds interesting all the proposals, but on regards of funding, which type of sources would this proyects require, private or public?

We must understand that by allowing private funding we might have to establish series of regulations between international firms on how to finance this proyects.

Even land-locked nations must be getting their supplies of oil from some point. Perhaps other smaller pipelines from nearby ports.

The Government of Annoyastan is in favor of these projects.

We do have concerns with the security of the pipeline, and the danger of environmental disasters from increased tanker traffic to the HRES port facility. May we consider phasing in some stringent specifications for these tankers, over the course of a few years, perhaps, moving towards double-hulled tankers? We realize this will entail great expense, however the expenses of oil spills are also enormous. Perhaps a system of taxation on the shipping that would reward (and make more cost-effective) the safer newer tankers?

P.O. Craven
Prime Minister

The Unionstat Pepestonika Federatislava echoes the commens made by the delegation of Annoyastan, as regarding the potential ecologycal mishaps of such proposals.

Our nation could provide port access to oil tankers, however we must undertstand that the risk undertaken by such nations is a great one. Not only should there be an accident with the pipeline, the end of it (port acces) would be the ones most affected by a potential spill.

That is why the Unionstat Pepestonika Federatislava demands that certain security measures be presented to any tanker that might dock in such pipeline.

Also, we have a question for this matter. Who or what nation or nations would be the ones granted acces to the pipeline? As well as, does the oil-drilling nations that posses the infrastructure and the oil as part of their sovereignty be willing to export such materials?

The Delegation of the Unionstat Pepestonika Federatislava

The Oil pipeline was the proposal of HRES, an oil producing and exporting nation. So, we can conclude that the European Soviets do indeed want to export their oil.

Oil producing nations, in order to sustain temselves, need to sell their oil. If they stop selling their oil, they do it at the expense of their own economy.

Thracia agrees with Annoyastan on the necessity to use double-hulled tankers. As for the environmental side-effects of the pipeline and the port, we believe all oil importers can help HRES minimize those.

OOC: Wasn't there a UN resolution that passed about when my country was created that banned single hulled tankers...I think that double hulls are the only legal ones...I hope that the UN resolutions apply...

You are correct about those single-hulled tankers.
The U.N. Resolution called "Ban Single-Hulled Tankers" was approved.
We can cross that concern off our list.

PO Craven
Prime Minister

IN that case, the Unionstat Pepestonika Federatislava (which means Federal Pepestonian Union in case there was doubts...) is in full support, both politicaly and economicaly of such proposal.

Byzantinople would like to express its support of these projects and offers to help if needed.

Byzanthine has already began to build the Trans-Balkanical Train section that cross our nation, linking Constantinople and Dorylateum. Byzanthinople, your services on the informatical area will be needed later.

The BS-T (Balkan Supertrain -- Thracia) construction company today initiated, with a modest ceremony, the building of the Thracian part of the railway.