Association of Germanic States
| Verein der Germanischen Staaten | |
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| Association of Germanic States | |
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| Motto: Germania vereinigten kann nie erobert |
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| Federal Association | |
| Governing body President |
Germanic Council Michael von Preußen |
| Formation | 2 January 2008 |
| Disestablishment | 12 December 2008 |
| Total Area | 239,658 sq. mi. |
| Total Population | 60,814,844 |
The Association of Germanic States (German: Verein der Germanischen Staaten) was a short-lived supranational federal association formed on 2 January 2008 by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Austria, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic. The Principality of Liechtenstein joined in August, and the newly-independent Alsace-Lorraine joined in September. The Canary Islands were purchased by Germany in early December, but they were never formally a part of the Association.
The body was governed by the Germanic Council, under the leadership of German Chancellor Michael von Preußen. Although the Association technically had no capital city, it usually met in Berlin. Each member state appointed one ambassador (usually the head of state or government), who received one vote on behalf of their country. Depending on the domestic laws of the states, sometimes the vote of the legislative bodies of the respective members was needed to ratify the vote. Decisions made by the Association were binding on all members.
Following the granting of membership to Alsace-Lorraine in September 2008, the Association turned its focus from merely competing with the European Union as an economic and political union, as it originally was, to forming a new sovereign state to unite Germanic regions of Europe. After a failed attempt to convince Norway and Sweden to join, who instead opted to remain within the European Union while combining their crowns, the Association secured, by economic means, the acquisition of areas of Poland and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad. On 11 December 2008, the Treaty of Kraków was concluded between the Association, the Russian Federation, and the European Union (representing Poland), granting these areas to the Association. On 12 December, Germany formally annexed those areas, as well as all other member states, and the People's Empire of Greater Germania was formed.
