Enlargement of the Western Union

All information on the future enlargement of the Western Union, along with a table showcasing the process in negotiations between the Western Union and the candidate side.

Things that have to be done to enter
In order for a country to join the Western Union a plethora of things to be done - the reason being that the Western Union is the most complicated and most integrated organization in Antarctica, with a lot of things binding the countries that cannot just be adopted in one day. The exiting process also takes a long time, even longer than the entry time due to a massive amount of things that need to be changed that cannot be changed or agreed upon in just one day - if a nation just immediately decided to leave it would crash their economy and harm relations with Western Union members.

The following table shows estimates for how long each part of negotiations to join the Western Union could take.

Current Candidates
There are currently no candidates to join the Western Union.

Andèra
Andèra is the leading candidate to join the Western Union. The country applied in October 2018 and then had to go through a long and excruciating process of getting current Western Union members to approve its candidacy. 3/4ths of all Western Union member states had to consent to this, or 8 members out of 11. The vote to approve their application ended as follows:


 * ACADIA: Yes (28 October 2018)
 * CANDVIA: Yes (9 December 2018)
 * CASEUSOPOLIS: Yes (12 November 2018)
 * DRAGONSTONE: Yes (28 October 2018)
 * DUCK ISLAND: Yes (28 October 2018)
 * EMPERORLANDS: Yes (18 November 2018)
 * FINIPINES: No (29 December 2018)
 * MARGATE: No (22 February 2019)
 * TERRA FEDERATION: Undecided
 * TROPICALIS: Yes (28 October 2018)
 * UNITED PROVINCES: Yes (21 February 2019)

(8 out of 11)

As of November 2019, in spite of having passed the necessary quorum, they have not yet acceded to the status of a candidate country. The Western Union Commission said that there are still things to be taken care of with regards to Andèra before the country could become a candidate. Additionally, the Finipines and Margate, two countries that are among the more important voices in the Union, have voiced their concerns about Andèra and expressed skepticism that the country is ready for candidacy status in the Western Union. UP president Simon McClark said that he expects membership talks with Andèra to be opened by the beginning of 2020, perhaps together with countries like Okan and Furshire.

Duck Island
Duck Island has been a candidate to join the Western Union on 21 October 2017, when they submitted their application. Immediately, the application was reviewed and so far was not rejected nor approved, though some member states have voiced concern over Duck Island joining as they believe they are wholly unprepared. President Simon McClark of the United Provinces stated that Duck Island is certainly welcome in the Western Union but that there are many issues that would need to be resolved that can't be resolved in just a few weeks time.

As of 1 Feb 2018, none of the chapters were closed in Duck Island's negotiations to join the Western Union and the country is still said to be "not even close" to joining the Western Union. Western Council President Duan Xuegang stated that the Western Union has been 'very unfair' towards Duck Island for not talking to them in a long time and he called for a reopening of talks with Duck Island to join the Western Union. Simon McClark has expressed his support for the idea of continuing Duck Island's negotiations but once again stated that there are many issues that are not even close to being resolved.

On 11 Feb 2018, after some thorough talks in New Duck City, the WU Chief Negotiator with Duck Island announced that 'significant progress' had been made on almost all chapters and that Duck Island is now "a few steps closer" towards joining the Western Union. She also applauded Duck Island for being 'respectful' throughout the negotiations that day and for cooperating with her team. On 11 February, the Simon McClark stated that he hopes that Duck Island closes the chapters of Wiki Experience, Energy, Taxation and Minority Rights chapters by 18 February.

When asked for when he expects Duck Island to finish negotiations to join the Western Union, Xuegang said that "there is no chance they finish before the early-March and that finishing negotiations doesn't mean they join the Western Union yet and that there are a lot of things that have to be done afterwards as well". On 17 February, President Penguino Lagois IV of Tropicalis, after private talks with President Fat Duck of Duck Island, endorsed the idea of Duck Island joining the Western Union. When asked when he hopes Duck Island ends negotiations, Fat Duck said "hopefully by the end of the month or beginning of the next month". President Brant Esser of Acadia also endorsed Duck Island's bid.

On 20th February 2018, Western Union Commission President Ludovica Carvillia confirmed that Duck Island would end its negotiations to join the Western Union on 24 February, the same day as Candvia and Dragonstone.

Polls showed support for entering the Union in October to be at around 86%. The support declined in January to 68% and to 66% by the end of February. On 22 February 2018 major protests took place in Winsburg attended by over 5,000 people calling for the UP to refuse to sign and ratify the Duckish treaty of accession, with the protesters stating that "Duck Island will destabilize and destroy our beloved union with their bickering with EP and their president's stubbornness". When asked to comment, Fat Duck stated "all such fears are irrational and I believe most UP people would be welcoming and kind towards our nation once it joins the union".

On 24 February 2018, they finished accession negotiations. President Fat Duck proceeded to announce a Western Union referendum will be held in Duck Island on 1 March, the same day the treaty of accession is signed.

Candvia


Candvia had expressed interest multiple times since 2017 to enter the Western Union but never really submitted their candidacy. On 18 February 2018, however, they were recognized as a potential candidate and the same day they submitted their application to join the Western Union. Prime Minister Maria Creslana later gave a televised statement in which he exclaimed that "Candvia belongs to the Western Union" and that "it is the goal nowadays of many nations to join this brotherly union of nations".

UP President Simon McClark was quick to respond to this statement and stated that he is fully ready to cooperate with Candvia on its accession to the Western Union. "I hope we can get both Duck Island and Candvia to enter the Western Union as soon as possible and that we're going to have skillful and successful negotiations" is what he said to the press on the way to the Presidential House in Winsburg.

On 20th February 2018, Western Union Commission President Ludovica Carvillia confirmed that Candvia would end its negotiations to join the Western Union on 24 February, the same day as Duck Island and Dragonstone. On 21 February 2018, nationalists organized a protest at Latinum Square in Ventides which was attended by around 200 people chanting "Refusa Unionem!" (Refuse the Union!) et "Gratias ago, Snobiam non amo!" (No thank you, don't like Snobiny!). The protest was small and was largely ignored by the media.

Polls showed support for entering the Western Union among Candvians to be around 71%. Candvia finished accession negotiations on 24 February. Prime Minister Creslana announced that there would be no referendum to join the Western Union and that the elections will serve as a sort of 'national choice' between a pro-WU and anti-WU future.

Dragonstone
Dragonstone had expressed interests in joining the Western Union numerous times in the past and on 19 February 2018 finally submitted its candidacy. Talks immediately began. The Western Union Council was quick to report progress on accession negotiations. On 20th February 2018, Western Union Commission President Ludovica Carvillia confirmed that Dragonstone would end its negotiations to join the Western Union on 24 February, the same day as Candvia and Duck Island.

Support for entering the Western Union is at around 92% in Dragonstone.

Finipines
Finipines had been brought up as a potential Western Union accession candidate ever since Margate and Amataria joined the Union in the spring of 2014. However, the instability of the Finipines in the recent few decades as well as the rather isolationist attitudes of the people and the government resulted in the idea of Finipines as a potential Western Union accession candidate never getting serious consideration. However, new president Amor Atienza entertained the idea of closer relations with the Western Union, and so in late 2014 a trade agreement was signed between the Western Union and the Democratic Republic of the Finipines. Following the trade agreement, in 2015, organizations and movements were created in the Finipines petitioning the government to seek joining the Western Union as a goal by the end of the year.

Amor Atienza discussed this extensively with her government throughout the year but ultimately the idea was rejected, instead closer ties were pursued. In addition to that, the Finipino people were divided on Western Union accession, with 32% being in favor of accession, 51% being against and 17% not knowing. Various reforms of the Western Union in 2016, as well as its enlargement with the inclusion of smaller nations such as Acadia and Caseusopolis, resulted in an increase in support for Western Union accession in the Finipines. By the end of the year, support for accession was evenly divided at 44% for accession and 44% against accession.

The march away from isolation led by President Atienza during her administration resulted in the fostering of international ties between the Finipines and the world, as well as growing trust in the Finipines and increased stability. The Western Union started heavily investing into infrastructure in the Finipines, and in 2017 the Union became one of the largest investors in the Finipino economy. In late 2017, as Duck Island started considering Western Union accession, the Finipines were pondering that idea once more and pro-WU campaigns were created in the country. The country remained sharply divided, however, as did the government, and further discussions were yet to be held regarding possible Western Union accession.

In January 2018, a series of negotiations took place between Amor Atienza and her government, during which she finally convinced her government to seek a pro-WU path. Major protests in Maybila against such a path, however, delayed a planned application for Western Union membership that was to be submitted by the end of the month. Instead, in February 2018, shortly after Duck Island, Candvia and Dragonstone submitted their own candidacies, the Finipines applied to join the Western Union, and negotiations began immediately. Negotiations went surprisingly smooth, however, in contrast to Duck Island's excruciatingly long process, and pro-WU sentiment peaked at around 55% in polls. Ultimately, the Finipines signed the Treaty of Accession on March 1st and joined the Western Union on April 1st without any referendum or ballot question whether the people support it - polls showed a majority were dissatisfied with that, but nonetheless support for the Western Union rose around 60%.

Emperorlands
On 20 February 2018, the Western Union recognized the Emperorlands as a potential candidate for Western Union accession. KingH10 responded by saying that "the Emperorlands is considering submitting an application join the Western Union". On 21 February 2018 that was officially done and the Emperorlands became a candidate country.

Support for entering the Western Union is at around 52% in the Emperorlands, meaning it could be a very difficult campaign to join the Western Union should a referendum be held.

Seal Islands
Since its inception, the Seal Islands had been brought up as a potential candidate for the Western Union. Even in 2018, the Western Council still teased the idea of the Seal Islands being a member of the Western Union, with the Council President Duan Xuegang saying that "the Seal Islands are always welcome to apply to join our family". The Seal Islands, however, had repeatedly refused to join but stated that they hope to improve relations with the Western Union and negotiate a trade agreement.

Any final hopes for Sealien ascension into the Western Union were dashed, however, in late 2018 when president Christina van Guilera announced that the Seal Islands would be joining the rival Axle Powers. Analysts state that this was probably due to its dependence on its neighbor, Shops Island, and the fact that joining the Western Union would likely be seen as a slight to the Shoppers on their home turf.