title: Victorian Football League

text: While the throw-pass was in effect, particularly during the early 1940s, there were talks between the VFA and VFL towards re-amalgamating the two bodies. Although the throw-pass had been a great success for the VFA, it was felt that a single controlling body for football in Victoria playing under a uniform set of rules was in the best interests of football as a whole. Negotiations for an amalgamation took place over several years, but broke down several times over a variety of issues, including representation at board level, Australian National Football Council representation, and a promotion and relegation structure between the VFA and VFL.


title: Victorian Football League

text: In the end, the two bodies never amalgamated, but the schism ended in 1949 when the bodies re-established a permit reciprocity agreement and the VFA was granted a non-voting position on the Australian National Football Council, later upgraded to a voting position in 1953; as a condition of joining, it was forced to abandon the throw-pass rule and adopt the national standard rules. These changes benefitted Victorian football as a whole, gave the VFA a say in national administration of the game. It also gave the VFA the right to compete in interstate matches, and at interstate carnivals over the 1950s and 1960s, the VFA generally competed at a similar standard to Tasmania as the fourth- or fifth-best team in the competition.


title: Victorian Football League

text: However, joining the ANFC also stripped the VFA of the throw-pass, and therefore of the on-field distinctions which allowed it to compete with the VFL for fans; this, coupled with the increased mobility of suburban Melburnians – who, due to the increased affordability of cars and the lifting in 1950 of wartime travel restrictions, were no longer captive audiences for their local VFA teams – resulted in a significant downturn in most VFA clubs during the 1950s. On-field, the competition became dominated by the few clubs with strong community links such as Port Melbourne, Williamstown, Sandringham, Oakleigh and Moorabbin (who had joined the VFA alongside Box Hill in 1951); the gap between those clubs and the weaker clubs, many of whom were periodically forced to play as amateurs due to a lack of money, grew large and the popularity of the competition declined.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Alex Gillon presided over the VFA from 1954 until 1980. During that time, the VFA underwent a series of changes to reinvigorate it after its post-throw pass decline of the 1950s. Major strategic changes were undertaken, including:


title: Victorian Football League

text: All of these changes resulted in the VFA enjoying a successful period during the 1970s. Increased sponsorship, public awareness, and a greater number of former and fringe VFL players joining the VFA gave it a product which allowed it to flourish in the Sunday timeslot. The VFA at this time comprised twenty clubs, ten in each division, with a constant membership between 1966 and 1981. Attendances at matches more than doubled between 1967 and 1975.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA's relationship with the VFL and ANFC again deteriorated during the 1960s. In 1965, the VFA stopped recognising its permit reciprocity agreement in retribution for two takeovers of VFA club grounds by VFL clubs (St Kilda at Moorabbin and North Melbourne at Coburg); then in 1967, the VFL stopped recognising the agreement in retribution for the VFA's the introduction of excessive transfer fees on its players. After the VFA refused to comply with an ANFC demand that a new reciprocal permit agreement be established, the VFA was expelled from the ANFC in 1970.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The decline of the VFA is often said to have commenced in 1982 when the VFL's struggling South Melbourne Swans moved to Sydney, as all Sydney Swans home games were played on Sunday and televised, ending the VFA's monopoly on Sunday football; Network Ten ended its weekly VFA coverage in the same year. However, this was not the sole cause for decline, which had started in the late 1970s: changing demographics meant that many traditional clubs had slowly found themselves in areas with high migrant populations, which either made it difficult to compete with soccer for local for fans and players, or simply brought a level of cultural apathy towards the sport in general; VFA historian Marc Fiddian also noted a decline in the number of ex-VFL players signing with VFA clubs through the late 1970s, which reduced the Association's drawing power, and an increasing gulf in quality between the best and worst clubs. Player payments increased through the 1980s, and declining financial support and sponsorship meant that many clubs began to struggle badly. The VFA had also developed a reputation for rough play and violence, and it was not until the late 1980s that it was able to clean up on-field discipline and shake that image.


title: Victorian Football League

text: In 1981, new VFA president Alan Wickes attempted to rectify the decline with further expansion: the VFA expanded further into the outer suburbs to twenty-four teams in 1983, adding Springvale, Moorabbin, Kilsyth and Berwick, and Wickes had a vision of expanding to thirty teams with an additional lower division which could affiliate more directly with the top tiers of suburban football; but (with the exception of Springvale), the new second division teams did little to reinvigorate the competition, and the clubs rejected any further expansion.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA's direction changed dramatically with the election of Brook Andersen as president in 1985. At the time, the VFL was looking at national expansion (ultimately becoming the Australian Football League in 1990) and Andersen's executive committee believed that the VFA could fill a new role as top state level league in Victoria when this happened; however, it believed that the VFA would need to be rationalised to a competition of twelve financially stable teams for this to occur. Andersen attempted but failed to obtain a mandate from the clubs to impose this rationalisation, but the VFA under his guidance nevertheless contracted, as it showed no lenience in suspending clubs who failed to meet minimum requirements. Several long-term second division clubs, struggling with rising costs and foreseeing the dissolution of the second division (which ultimately occurred when fifteen teams remained in the 1989 season), also took the opportunity to return to suburban football before being forced out. The eight-year period between 1984 and 1991 saw twelve clubs exit the VFA: Mordialloc, Kilsyth, Berwick, Geelong West and Camberwell returned to suburban football; Yarraville, Moorabbin, Northcote and Caulfield were suspended; and Sunshine, Brunswick-Broadmeadows and Waverley all folded.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA rejoined the ANFC as a non-voting member in 1987, and replaced the board of club delegates with an independent executive committee in 1988. It also regained weekly television coverage from the 1988 season onwards, with the ABC broadcasting a match each Saturday. It returned to the standard 18-per-side rules in 1993.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Despite the rationalisation to its twelve strongest teams and improved television coverage, the financial position of the competition and the vast majority of its clubs remained perilous into the early 1990s, and it was clear that the VFA was no longer a viable independent body in the long term. At the end of the 1994 season, the VFA was formally disbanded in an administrative capacity, and the on-field competition was turned over to the Victorian State Football League – a body which had been set up two years earlier by the AFL to manage and oversee football at all levels in Victoria, and also ran the statewide under-18s competition (the present day NAB League) and the AFL reserves competition in Victoria. This ended the VFA's 97 years of independence from the VFL/AFL, and created for the first time since 1896 a unified structure for state-level football in Victoria.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VSFL sought to align the VFA with the under-18s competition, with each VFA club affiliated with an under-18s team to provide a developmental pathway from under-18 football into state-level senior football. In doing this, the number of metropolitan teams was cut from twelve to nine in 1995, with Prahran, Oakleigh and Dandenong departing. This left nine clubs with a VFA heritage, coming from different eras: Port Melbourne and Williamstown from the pre-1897 era; Preston, Coburg and Sandringham from the 1920s expansion; Box Hill, Werribee and Frankston from the 1950s/1960s expansion; and Springvale from the 1980s expansion. The VFA name was retained for the on-field competition during its first season under VSFL administration; then, in 1996, the competition was renamed the Victorian Football League (VFL) – the same name which had been used by the rival VFL/AFL competition until 1990. Despite the change in name and administrative structure, the on-field competition is considered continuous, and VFA records are recognised in the VFL era.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VSFL intended that each statewide under-18s team would be affiliated with a VFL club, so embarked upon a period of expansion to represent the four under-18s teams from country Victoria, as well as Tasmania (which was represented in the competition for a period of time). In this expansion, existing powerhouse country clubs North Ballarat and Traralgon joined the league in 1996, with new clubs established in Bendigo, Albury (the Murray Kangaroos, representing the Ovens & Murray region) and Tasmania between 1998 and 2001. The regional senior clubs struggled to be financially viable in the statewide competition, with Traralgon and Murray lasting only two and three years respectively. Since 2018, no regional clubs have contested the competition.


title: Victorian Football League

text: From 1995 until 1999, the VSFL operated its two open-age competitions – the VFA/VFL and the Victorian AFL reserves competition – separately; however, its intention had always been to merge the two, and this took place following the 1999 season, after the agreement of the AFL clubs. Under the administration's new name "Football Victoria" (later AFL Victoria), those two competitions were merged into a single competition still known as the Victorian Football League. Since this time, the VFL has been contested by a mixture of three types of clubs:


title: Victorian Football League

text: All three models compete to a relatively even standard, with premierships having been won by all three types of team since the merger. An additional reserves affiliation option, under which AFL clubs were allowed to spread their reserves players across all of the league's VFL clubs rather than into a single aligned club, has also existed since 2021 but has not been taken up by any AFL clubs.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The affiliation deals greatly improved the financial viability of the clubs in question, but they diluted their ability to represent their suburb. There have been many changes to the affiliation arrangements in the decade since the VFL and VSFL merged, as well as a shift in the arrangement preferred by the AFL clubs. Initially, only four of the ten Victorian AFL clubs were involved in a VFL affiliation, with the rest fielding reserves teams. At its peak of between 2003 and 2006, nine of the ten Victorian AFL clubs were involved in an affiliation, with only Geelong fielding its own reserves team. Most clubs have since migrated away from this model, and since 2021 seven of the ten Victorian AFL clubs have fielded stand-alone reserves teams in the VFL. Through the 2000s, the AFL preferred that its Victorian clubs retained VFL-affiliations, and offered a disincentive in the form of an inflated licence fee for fielding a stand-alone team; however, the AFL did not otherwise prevent teams from fielding stand-alone reserves teams if they were willing and able to pay the fee. The total licence and running costs for an AFL club to field its reserves team in the VFL were estimated to be $500,000 per year in 2011.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Through this period, the VFL remained moderately popular in Victoria, although not nearly as well-supported as the dominant Australian Football League. Matches attracted both traditional fans of the VFA/VFL clubs, and fans of affiliated AFL clubs keen to watch their reserves players in action. The match of the week and most finals continued to be televised live in Melbourne by the ABC until 2014, and since 2015 by the Seven Network as a lead-in to its AFL coverage.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The 2020 VFL season was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon the VFL's resumption in 2021, the North East Australian Football League – which had served as the state league in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory – was wound up and absorbed into the VFL; this resulted in the reserves teams from the New South Wales and Queensland AFL clubs (Sydney, Greater Western Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast) joining the league, and two of the NEAFL's other Queensland-based senior clubs – Aspley and Southport – joining, although Aspley departed after the 2021 season. This brought the league to its largest size since the 1980s, with 22 clubs competing: eight stand-alone VFL clubs, eleven AFL reserves teams, and three traditional VFA/VFL clubs in reserves affiliations with AFL clubs. The league was also revamped to improve its ability to serve as a talent pathway, with each club required to field at least six under-22 players in each game. The 2021 season also saw increased broadcast coverage with Foxtel and its streaming service "Kayo" showing games in addition to the ongoing deal with Seven Network.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The first award for the Association best and fairest player was the Woodham Cup, first awarded in 1923; this was renamed the Recorder Cup in 1926. Starting from 1933, a second award, the V.F.A. Medal, was awarded concurrently; the awards were both based on the votes of the umpires, but were based on different voting systems. In 1940, the Association dispensed with the Recorder Cup voting system, and awarded both trophies to the same player based on the same set of votes.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Since 1945, the award for the best and fairest player in each VFA/VFL season has been the J. J. Liston Trophy, named after long-term Association president John James Liston, who died in 1944.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFL is classed as a semi-professional competition. In 2007 the league had a salary cap of $185,000, excluding service payments. There are a significantly higher number of AFL reserves due to affiliations with Victorian clubs, but player payments for these appearances is apparently not included in the VFL's salary cap. Following the 2013 VFL season, it was revealed that several clubs were lobbying VFL executives to increase the salary cap in a bid to keep high-level players who had relieved themselves of participating in the league to accept more attractive financial offers in local football competitions, where such caps are far less regulated.


title: Victorian Football League

text: As of the 2022 season, standalone clubs in the league, of which there are eight, have a A$220,000 salary cap, while the AFL reserve and affiliate clubs have a A$110,000 salary cap.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Attendances are small by AFL standards, and generally less than the SANFL and WAFL, with an average of between 500 and 1,000 in attendance. Crowds for many finals matches tend to average in the 2,000–6,000 range, with the Grand Final typically attracting a crowd in the 10,000–14,000 mark.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFL does not publish home-and-away attendance figures, as some games are played as AFL curtain raisers; however, various sources quote attendances for some games of the stronger clubs that maintain home records of their own.


title: Victorian Football League

text: Television coverage has been critical to the exposure of the VFA/VFL during its history, and has typically taken the form of the match of the week being televised live into Melbourne, as well as most finals. Television and streaming deals during the league's history are as follows:


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA holds the distinction of having the first match to be broadcast live on television in Australia, when the second half of the match between Oakleigh and Preston on 25 May 1957 was televised on Channel 2.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The first regular radio broadcasts of VFA games were made by 3XY, a little after the station commenced operations in 1935. The commentator was former Geelong VFL player Wallace "Jumbo" Sharland who had earlier been the first to describe VFL matches, that being on 3AR in 1923. In 1954 3AK began broadcasting VFA games, albeit only for a season or two. The 1970s also saw broadcasts on 3UZ, and local Geelong station, 3GL, broadcast all Geelong West matches. In 1982, the then-dominant Melbourne sports radio station, 3AW, broadcast the Grand Final. In 2003, 3AK evolved into sports radio station SEN 1116, and provided a coverage of VFL matches, but this was discontinued after they won the rights to broadcast the AFL (Australian Football League) from the 2007 season. From 1993 onwards radio's main home for the competition was on Casey Radio where the team, headed up by Ken Moore, did a terrific job bringing games to the wider public. The station gave a start to such broadcasters as Nigel Carmody, Darren Parkin and Tristan Foenander and has proven a terrific breeding ground for emerging sports broadcasters. The station still broadcasts the league today, combined with doing the local league down in Melbourne's southeast.


title: Victorian Football League

text: VFL Radio is produced by BPM Media who broadcast live at least one game a week during the regular season plus each day of the finals series. The coverage is broadcast on the Vision Australia Radio network throughout Victoria on analogue radio, by Aussie digital radio (SEN 2) and on the internet at vfl.com.au or bpmmedia.com.au.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA and VFL have undergone significant format changes since its induction which means several clubs have either left the league or changed identity for different reasons. Excluded from this list are provincial clubs who were full administrative members of the VFA in its first decade, but who never played enough games against other clubs to be considered relevant in the premiership.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The following men served as president of the VFA between its establishment in 1877 and its merger with the VSFL in 1994.


title: Victorian Football League

text: From the 2016 season, a statewide women's football league aligned with the VFL was established by AFL Victoria. The competition initially comprised the six Premier Division clubs and the top four Division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and was aligned and co-branded with the VFL to improve market penetration. Following the 2017 season, the competition was reconfigured to affiliate teams more closely with AFL clubs. Since 2018, the league has comprised thirteen teams; twelve are based in Victoria (nine of which are affiliated with AFL clubs) and one in the Northern Territory. The league runs from May to September, running concurrently with the VFL.


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA/VFL operated a seconds or reserves competition from the 1920s, initially emerging from the Victorian Junior Football Association. From its inception until 1979, the seconds team played on Saturday afternoons, playing at home when the senior team played away and vice versa. Since 1980, seconds matches have been played as curtain-raisers to senior matches, on Saturdays or Sundays as necessary. The competition was later renamed the reserves, and then from the beginning of the 2012 season it has been known as the AFL Victoria Development League, a move that coincided with the introduction of the AFL Victoria Development Academy which provides development opportunities for up to 25 selected VFL players per year. For most of the VFA's history, fielding a team in the seconds grade was mandatory for all senior teams, but in the state league era many regional clubs – as well as all AFL clubs fielding their reserves teams in the VFL seniors – opted not to contest the minor grade. The Development League was abolished after the 2017 season with all VFL clubs' reserve players now play suburban football when not playing with the VFL seniors. "(List of VFL Seconds Premiers)"


title: Victorian Football League

text: The VFA operated an under-19s competition, initially known as the Thirds, between 1952 and 1994. The Under-19s was disbanded when the VFA merged with the VSFL at the end of 1994, with the statewide under-19s competition (the present day NAB League) replacing its function as an under-18s competition. "(List of VFA Thirds Premiers)"


title: Dustin Clare

text: Dustin Clare is an Australian actor. He is known for his starring role as Gannicus in the Starz series "", "" and "", and as Riley Ward on the series "McLeod's Daughters".


title: Dustin Clare

text: Clare is from Australia. Born in Grafton, he grew up in both Ballina, NSW and Maclean, NSW. Clare studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, he graduated in 2004.


title: Dustin Clare

text: He served as a 2012 ambassador for the Warrambeen Film Festival. He is also an ambassador for the White Ribbon Foundation.


title: Dustin Clare

text: From 2006–2007, he starred as Riley Ward in 48 episodes of the series "McLeod's Daughters". In 2009, he played Sydney hit-man and gangland figure Christopher Dale Flannery in "" and also as Sean in the Showtime Network (Australia) series "Satisfaction".


title: Dustin Clare

text: His global fame occurred when he starred as Gannicus, the champion gladiator of the House of Batiatus, in "". This is the prequel to the series "" and the second season chronologically of release. He returned to his role as Gannicus in the two sequel seasons to "" entitled "" and "".


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: In the game, the player follows and controls "Taiga", a 16-year-old male protagonist who is transported to the digital world of Digimon, which in his universe is merely an online game; similar in concept to "Digimon World". In the universe of Digimon, people raise creatures collectively referred to as Digimon, similar in concept to Tamagotchi. Players raise the digimon through stages of growth that determine his personality, the five stages being "Baby", "Child", "Adult", "Perfect" and "Ultimate". Digimon evolve over time by gaining stats and other factors. Digimon can get hungry, sick, injured or die and need care to recover. The game has over 10,000 accessories to collect and equip on their digimon, which alter the character's in-game appearance, such as goggles, or an afro.


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: Taiga is the main protagonist of the game. His Digimon partner is Agumon. Nicolai Petrov is Taiga's best friend. His father works in GIGO company. His Digimon partner is Gaomon. Akiho Rindo is a mysterious girl that follows Taiga around. Her Digimon partner is Biyomon. Mikagura Mirei is the girl who sends an email to the Digital World. Her Digimon partners are Angewomon and LadyDevimon. Yuya Kuga is the heir of GIGO company. His Digimon partner is BlackWarGreymon X. Rina Shinomiya is a new tamer who only appears in the "Decode" 3DS version of the game. Her Digimon partner is Veemon.


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: The game also contains a number of guest characters from other games, including Lili from the "Tekken" series, Taichi Yagami, Sora Takenouchi, and Yamato Ishida from "Digimon Adventure", and Takato Matsuda from "Digimon Tamers". These character primarily appear in the wireless battles.


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: "Digimon World Re:Digitize" was first announced in July 2011, in an issue of "V-Jump", as the first "Digimon" game for the PlayStation Portable. The game was announced to be developed by Japanese video game developer Tri-Crescendo, who had previously worked on the two "" games, and feature character art from Suzuhito Yasuda, who had previously done the character art for "" and "Devil Survivor 2". The original premise of "Re:Digitize" was to call back to the first "Digimon World" game; unlike the sequels. Two trailers were released for "Re:Digitize"; a teaser trailer and a second trailer. Namco Bandai released limited copies that included a code to unlock a rare Digimon for the GREE game: "Digimon Collectors".


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: The original game was released on PSP on July 19, 2012 and the enhanced port for the Nintendo 3DS was released on June 27, 2013, both only in Japan. After no English-language versions were announced for any other regions, a fan campaigned called "Operation Decode", an offshoot of the Operation Rainfall campaign, was created. While tens of thousands of digital signatures requesting the game be released in English, as of 2015, no further announcement of other releases has been made by Bandai Namco, though they have commented that the support coming from the campaign was "interesting". In 2013, a fan translation was started by a similarly named group, called "Operation Decoded", led by users "Romsstar" and "Sporky McForkinspoon." The group worked on the translation for over two years before it was released on June 22, 2015. The group, without "Sporky McForkinspoon", released the "Decode" fan translation on December 31, 2020.


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: The PlayStation Portable version debuted with over 85,000 copies sold, making it the fourth best-selling game in Japan in the week of July 16, 2012, and would go on to sell a total of approximately 153,780 copies in the region by the end of 2012, becoming the 74th best-selling game that year. It received a 31 out of 40 total score from Japanese "Weekly Famitsu" magazine, based on individual reviews of 8, 8, 7, and 8. The Nintendo 3DS version would sell 34,350 copies at its launch nearly one year later, with a total of 71,967 copies sold by the end of 2013, becoming the 139th highest-selling software title that year. It was granted a slightly higher score of 32 out of 40 from "Famitsu", based on reviews of 8, 8, 8, and 8.


title: Digimon World Re:Digitize

text: During June 2012, Kouhei Fujino was expected to write a manga in Shueisha's "V Jump" magazine. In April 2013, he wrote another manga named "Digimon World Re:Digitize Encode", a retelling of the game's story.


title: Germania (personification)

text: Germania (; ) is the personification of the German nation or the Germans as a whole. Like many other national personification symbols, she appeared first during the Roman Era. During the Medieval era, she was usually portrayed as one of the lands or provinces ruled by the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and not as the most prominent but in a subordinate position to imperial power and other provinces. Around 1500, together with the birth of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Emperor Maximilian I and his humanists reinvented her as Mother of the Nation.


title: Germania (personification)

text: She is also commonly associated with the Romantic Era and the Revolutions of 1848, though the figure was later used by Imperial Germany.


title: Germania (personification)

text: "Germania" is the Latin name of the country called "Deutschland" in the spoken language of its own inhabitants, though used as the country's name in various other languages, such as "Germany" in English. In the country itself, the use of the Latin "Germania" was mainly literary and poetical, linked with patriotic and nationalist feelings, like "Helvetia" for Switzerland, "Hibernia" for Ireland, "Caledonia" for Scotland, "Lusitania" for Portugal etc.


title: Germania (personification)

text: Germania as personification is usually depicted as a robust woman with long, flowing, reddish-blonde hair and wearing armour. She often wields the "Reichsschwert" (imperial sword), and possesses a medieval-style shield that sometimes bears the image of a black eagle on a gold field. Additionally, she is sometimes shown as carrying or wearing the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire.


title: Germania (personification)

text: In post-1918 images, the banner she holds is the black-red-gold flag of modern Germany, but in depictions from 1871 to 1918 it is the black-white-red flag of the German Empire.


title: Germania (personification)

text: The figure of Germania appeared in Roman times, usually on coins, at first as a captive Amazon subdued by the Romans. Sometimes, however, she appeared in a more dignified form as manifestation of a more integrative imperial ideology. For example, she was depicted with the attributes of Minerva on a coin in the reign of Hadrian.


title: Germania (personification)

text: Defeated or dignified, she was usually represented with a manly combative spirit, presumably characteristic of her people – their "virtus bellatrix" or "virtus militum". Also in the Roman period, Tacitus ascribed to the Germanic tribes the characteristics of "virtus" (manliness) and "fortitudo" (strength).


title: Germania (personification)

text: Germania resurfaced during the Middle Age. She was usually part of a group paying homage to imperial authority. For example, she was shown paying homage to Otto III, together with Slavia, Gallia and Italia.


title: Germania (personification)

text: In another scene (Pericopes of Henry II, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, CIm 4452, Fol. 2r) showing the 1014 coronation of Emperor Henry II and his empress, Kunigunde, she appeared as one of three provinces (together with Roma and Gallia). This represents Henry's idea of the Empire.


title: Germania (personification)

text: During the reign of Maximilian I, the emperor ("an arch-publicist and mythmaker", according to Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly) and his humanists reinvented Germania as the Mother of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. She was now not subordinate to imperial power and other figures any more. Rather, she reflected the self-image of Maximilian and took a central role in his Triumphal Procession (Maximilian died before this project was completed though. When it was first printed in 1526 by Archduke Ferdinand, the future emperor, she disappeared.) She was pacific, yet virile, and as the emperor personally dictated, with her hair loose and wearing a crown. She was presented as Mother, Sovereign Lady (Herrscherin), the Empire and the Birthland, as well as embodiment of Imperial rulership. The humanist Heinrich Bebel also spread a story about his dream, in which Germania told him to talk to her son (Maximilian). Colvin and Watanabe-O'Kelly opine that during the Early Modern period, the virtues incorporated into the German identity (ethnic purity, fertility. liberty, loyalty, morality, together with "virtus" and "fortitudo" as described by Tacitus through the image of Germania were for the "Adelsnation" (aristocracy) only, relying on a 1519 document that called on the princes and counts (presented as sons of "Germania" and dedicated to Mars) to support the "German candidate", who would become Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (although at that point he could not speak German and had never set foot in Germany) against the French king Francis I. Brandt presents a more complicated image: while all major social groups considered the nation as "the framework for political order", the emperor used the image of the nation as his imperial claim to power (opposing the estates and the pope) ruling over all members of the nation, for the Protestant patriots, the emperors and princes were equally subordinate to the godly mother of the empire.


title: Germania (personification)

text: During the turbulent sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Germania was often presented as torn or ill ("Germania degenerans", a humanist motif beginning with Sebastian Brandt (1458–1521)'s "Germania und ihre Söhne"), showing difficulties in achieving political unity for the Empire.


title: Germania (personification)

text: In the nineteenth century, depictions of Germania were given more nationalistic and warlike traits, also a popular trend in contemporary Europe.


title: Germania (personification)

text: In literature too, she appeared as a belligerent mother in Heinrich von Kleist's "Germania an ihre kinder".


title: Germania (personification)

text: In "The proclamation of the Reich" (1871), part of an elaborate imperial iconographical program centred on the old Kaiserpfalz (Imperial Palace) in Goslar, Queen Luise, mother of the new emperor Wilhelm I was presented as Germania.


title: Germania (personification)

text: The most notable recent interpretation is Heiner Müller (1929–1995)'s "Germania Tod", in which she functions as a midwife who witnesses Goebbels gives birth to Hitler's child, a deformed wolf.


title: Germania (personification)

text: In 2019, Ruby Commey portrayed Germania in the music video for Rammstein's song "Deutschland", which was a number-one single in several countries, but also attracted significant controversy due to her being an Afro-German.


title: Wetsuit

text: A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. Its purpose is to provide thermal insulation and protection from abrasion, ultraviolet exposure, and stings from marine organisms. It also contributes extra buoyancy. The insulation properties of neoprene foam depend mainly on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material, which reduce its ability to conduct heat. The bubbles also give the wetsuit a low density, providing buoyancy in water.


title: Wetsuit

text: Hugh Bradner, a University of California, Berkeley physicist, invented the modern wetsuit in 1952. Wetsuits became available in the mid-1950s and evolved as the relatively fragile foamed neoprene was first backed, and later sandwiched, with thin sheets of tougher material such as nylon or later spandex (also known as lycra). Improvements in the way joints in the wetsuit were made by gluing, taping and blindstitching, helped the suit to remain waterproof and reduce "flushing", the replacement of water trapped between suit and body by cold water from the outside. Further improvements in the seals at the neck, wrists, ankles and zippers produced a suit known as a "semi-dry".


title: Wetsuit

text: Different types of wetsuit are made for different uses and for different temperatures. Suits range from a thin (2 mm or less) "shortie", covering just the torso, to a full 8 mm semi-dry, usually complemented by neoprene boots, gloves and hood.


title: Wetsuit

text: The difference between a wetsuit and a dry suit is that a wetsuit allows water to enter the suit, though good fit limits water circulation inside the suit, and between the inside and outside of the suit, while dry suits are designed to prevent water from entering, thus keeping the undergarments dry and preserving their insulating effectiveness. Wetsuits can give adequate protection in warm to moderately cold waters. Dry suits are typically more expensive and more complex to use, but can be used where protection from lower temperatures or contaminated water is needed.


title: Wetsuit

text: The primary function of a wetsuit is thermal insulation to keep the wearer warm in conditions where they would otherwise lose body heat rapidly due to heat transfer by relatively large quantities of water. Secondary, and incidental, functions are buoyancy and protection from some environmental hazards such as abrasion, sunburn, and to a lesser extent, wind chill. Wetsuits are used for thermal insulation for activities where the user is likely to be immersed in water, or frequently doused with heavy spray, often approaching from near-horizontal directions, where normal wet-weather clothing is unlikely to keep the water out.


title: Wetsuit

text: Activities include underwater diving, sailing, sea rescue operations, surfing, river rafting, whitewater kayaking and in some circumstances, endurance swimming.


title: Wetsuit

text: In open water swimming events the use of wetsuits is controversial, as some participants claim that wetsuits are being worn for competitive advantage and not just for warmth.


title: Wetsuit

text: Unlike triathlons, which allow swimmers to wear wetsuits when the water is below a certain temperature (the standard is at the surface or up to for unofficial events.), most open water swim races either do not permit the use of wetsuits, (usually defined as anything covering the body above the waist or below the knees), or put wetsuit-clad swimmers in a separate category and/or make them ineligible for race awards. This varies by locales and times of the year, where water temperatures are substantially below comfortable.


title: Wetsuit

text: Still water (without currents or convection) conducts heat away from the body by pure thermal diffusion, approximately 20 to 25 times more efficiently than still air. Water has a thermal conductivity of 0.58 WmK while still air has a thermal conductivity of 0.024 WmK, so an unprotected person can succumb to hypothermia even in warmish water on a warm day. Wetsuits are made of closed-cell foam neoprene, a synthetic rubber that contains small bubbles of nitrogen gas when made for use as wetsuit material (neoprene may also be manufactured without foaming for many other applications where insulating qualities are not important). Nitrogen, like most gases, has very low thermal conductivity compared to water or to solids, and the small and enclosed nature of the gas bubbles minimizes heat transport through the gas by convection in the same way that cloth fabrics or feathers insulate by reducing convection of enclosed air spaces. The result is that the gas-filled cavities restrict heat transfer to mostly conduction, which is partly through bubbles of entrapped gas, thereby greatly reducing heat transfer from the body (or from the layer of warmed water trapped between the body and the wetsuit) to the colder water surrounding the wetsuit.


title: Wetsuit

text: Uncompressed foam neoprene has a typical thermal conductivity in the region of 0.054 WmK, which produces about twice the heat loss of still air, or one-tenth the loss of water. However at a depth of about of water, the thickness of the neoprene will be halved and its conductivity will be increased by about 50%, allowing heat to be lost at three times the rate at the surface. Repeated compression and decompression of the neoprene foam will eventually lead to loss of volume, insulation, buoyancy and flexibility.


title: Wetsuit

text: A wetsuit must have a snug fit to work efficiently when immersed; too loose a fit, particularly at the openings (wrists, ankles, neck and overlaps) will allow cold water from the outside to enter when the wearer moves. Flexible seals at the suit cuffs aid in preventing heat loss in this fashion. The elasticity of the foamed neoprene and surface textiles allow enough stretch for many people to effectively wear off-the-shelf sizes, but others have to have their suits custom fitted to get a good fit that is not too tight for comfort and safety. Places where the suit bridges a hollow tend to change volume when the wearer bends that part of the body, and the change in volume of the space under the suit works as a pump to push warm water out of the suit and suck cold water in on the opposite movement.


title: Wetsuit

text: Foamed neoprene is very buoyant, helping swimmers to stay afloat, and for this reason divers need to carry extra weight based on the volume of their suit to achieve neutral buoyancy near the surface. However, the suit loses thermal protection as the bubbles in the neoprene are compressed at depth. Buoyancy is also reduced by compression, and scuba divers can correct this by inflating the buoyancy compensator.


title: Wetsuit

text: Measurements of volume change of neoprene foam used for wetsuits under hydrostatic compression shows that about 30% of the volume, and therefore 30% of surface buoyancy, is lost in about the first 10 m, another 30% by about 60 m, and the volume appears to stabilise at about 65% loss by about 100 m. The total buoyancy loss of a wetsuit is proportional to the initial uncompressed volume. An average person has a surface area of about 2 m, so the uncompressed volume of a full one piece 6 mm thick wetsuit will be in the order of 1.75 x 0.006 = 0.0105 m, or roughly 10 litres. The mass will depend on the specific formulation of the foam, but will probably be in the order of 4 kg, for a net buoyancy of about 6 kg at the surface. Depending on the overall buoyancy of the diver, this will generally require 6 kg of additional weight to bring the diver to neutral buoyancy to allow reasonably easy descent The volume lost at 10 m is about 3 litres, or 3 kg of buoyancy, rising to about 6 kg buoyancy lost at about 60 m. This could nearly double for a large person wearing a farmer-john and jacket for cold water. This loss of buoyancy must be balanced by inflating the buoyancy compensator to maintain neutral buoyancy at depth.


title: Wetsuit

text: In 1952, UC Berkeley and subsequent UC San Diego SIO physicist Hugh Bradner, who is considered to be the original inventor and "father of the modern wetsuit," had the insight that a thin layer of trapped water could be tolerated between the suit fabric and the skin, so long as sufficient insulation was present in the fabric of the suit. In this case, the water would quickly reach skin temperature and gas bubbles in the fabric would continue to act as the thermal insulation to keep it that way. In the popular mind, the layer of water between skin and suit has been credited with providing the insulation, but Bradner clearly understood that the suit did not need to be wet because it was not the water that provided the insulation but rather the gas in the suit fabric. He initially sent his ideas to Lauriston C. "Larry" Marshall who was involved in a U.S. Navy/National Research Council Panel on Underwater Swimmers. However, it was Willard Bascom, an engineer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, who suggested foamed neoprene as a feasible material to Bradner.


title: Wetsuit

text: Bradner and Bascom were not overly interested in profiting from their design and were unable to successfully market a version to the public. They attempted to patent their neoprene wetsuit design, but their application was rejected because the design was viewed as too similar to a flight suit. The United States Navy also turned down Bradner's and Bascom's offer to supply its swimmers and frogmen with the new wetsuits due to concerns that the gas in the neoprene component of the suits might make it easier for naval divers to be detected by underwater sonar. The first written documentation of Bradner's invention was in a letter to Marshall, dated June 21, 1951.


title: Wetsuit

text: Jack O'Neill started using closed-cell neoprene foam which was shown to him by his bodysurfing friend, Harry Hind, who knew of it as an insulating material in his laboratory work. After experimenting with the material and finding it superior to other insulating foams, O'Neill founded the successful wetsuit manufacturing company called "O'Neill" in a San Francisco garage in 1952, later relocating to Santa Cruz, California in 1959 with the motto "It's Always Summer on the Inside". Bob and Bill Meistrell, from Manhattan Beach, California, also started experimenting with neoprene around 1953. They started a company which would later be named Body Glove.


title: Wetsuit

text: Neoprene was not the only material used in early wetsuits, particularly in Europe and Australia. The Pêche-Sport "isothermic" suit invented by Georges Beuchat in 1953 and the UK-made Siebe Gorman Swimsuit were both made out of sponge rubber. The Heinke Dolphin Suit of the same period, also made in England, came in a green male and a white female version, both manufactured from natural rubber lined with stockinet. As early as July 1951, underwater hunters in Australia were experimenting with a natural rubber wetsuit "of a 'wrap on' variety, which does not set out to be 100% waterproof (but it is claimed that) the leakage of water through it is so slow that body warmth under it is maintained for hours." By May 1953, the Bondi underwater equipment manufacturer Undersee Products was already distributing this singlet-like design commercially to Australian sporting goods stores, where it was described thus: "Made from heavy sheet rubber, the Sealskin suit is most effective when worn over a football jersey. When jersey becomes wet, rubber holds it firmly against body and thus warmth is generated. Water circulation automatically stops and body warmth builds up in moisture-laden jersey. The Seaskin suit provides both underwater insulation and above-water wind protection."


title: Wetsuit

text: Originally, wetsuits were made only with sheets of foam-rubber or neoprene that did not have any backing material. This type of suit required care while pulling it on because the foam-rubber by itself is both fragile and sticky against bare skin. Stretching and pulling excessively easily caused these suits to be torn open. This was somewhat remedied by thoroughly powdering the suit and the diver's body with talc to help the rubber slide on more easily.


title: Wetsuit

text: Backing materials first arrived in the form of nylon knit cloth applied to one side of the neoprene. This allowed a swimmer to pull on the suit relatively easily since the nylon took most of the stress of pulling on the suit, and there was less friction between the nylon and skin, but the suit still had the bare foam exposed on the outside and the nylon was relatively stiff, limiting flexibility. A small strip of neoprene reversed with the rubber against the skin could help provide a sealing surface to keep water out around the neck, wrists, and ankles.


title: Wetsuit

text: In 1960, the British Dunlop Sports Company brought out its yellow Aquafort neoprene wetsuit, whose high visibility was intended to improve diver safety. However, the line was discontinued after a short while and wetsuits reverted to their black uniformity. The colorful wetsuits seen more recently first arrived in the 1970s when double-backed neoprene was developed. In this material the foam-rubber is sandwiched between two protective fabric outer layers, greatly increasing the tear-resistance. An external layer also meant that decorative colors, logos, and patterns could be made with panels and strips sewn into various shapes. This change from bare flat black rubber to full color took off in the 1980s with brilliant fluorescent colors common on many suits.


title: Wetsuit

text: The first suits used traditional sewing methods to simply overlap two strips of rubber and sew them together. In a rubber wetsuit this does not work well for a number of reasons, the main one being that punching holes straight through both layers of foam for the thread opens up passages for water to flow in and out of the suit. The second problem is that the stretching of the foam tended to enlarge the needle holes when the suit was worn. This meant that a wetsuit could be very cold all along the seams of the suit. And although the sewn edge did hold the two pieces together, it could also act as a perforated tear edge, making the suit easier to tear along the seams when putting it on and taking it off.


title: Wetsuit

text: When nylon-backed neoprene appeared, the problem of the needle weakening the foam was solved, but still the needle holes leaked water along the seams.


title: Wetsuit

text: To deal with all these early sewing problems, taping of seams was developed. The tape is a strong nylon cloth with a very thin but solid waterproof rubber backing. The tape is applied across the seam and bonded either with a chemical solvent or with a hot rolling heat-sealer to melt the tape into the neoprene.


title: Wetsuit

text: With this technology, the suit could be sewn and then taped, and the tape would cover the sewing holes as well as providing some extra strength to prevent tearing along the needle holes.


title: Wetsuit

text: When colorful double-backed designer suits started appearing, taping moved primarily to the inside of the suit because the tape was usually very wide, jagged, black, and ugly, and was hidden within the suit and out of sight.


title: Wetsuit

text: Many 1960s and 1970s wetsuits were black with visible yellow seam taping. The yellow made the divers more easily seen in dark low-visibility water. To avoid this problem O'Neill fabricators developed a seam-tape which combined a thin nylon layer with a polyester hemming tape. Applied over the interior of the glued & sewn seam, then anneal bonded with a hand held teflon heating iron produced a seam that was both securely sealed and much stronger.


title: Wetsuit

text: Another alternative to sewing was to glue the edges of the suit together. This created a smooth, flat surface that did not necessarily need taping, but unfortunately, raw foam glued to foam is not a strong bond and still prone to tearing.


title: Wetsuit

text: Most early wetsuits were fabricated completely by hand, which could lead to sizing errors in the cutting of the foam sheeting. If the cut edges did not align correctly or the gluing was not done well, there might still be water leakage along the seam.


title: Wetsuit

text: Initially, suits could be found as being sewn only, glued only, taped only, then also sewn and taped, or glued and taped, or perhaps all three.


title: Wetsuit

text: Sometime after nylon-backed neoprene appeared, the blind stitch method was developed. A blindstitch sewing machine uses a curved needle, which does not go all the way through the neoprene but just shallowly dips in behind the fabric backing, crosses the glue line, and emerges from the surface on the same side of the neoprene. This is similar to the overlock stitching used for teeshirts and other garments made from knitted fabrics.


title: Wetsuit

text: The curved needle allows the fabric backing to be sewn together without punching a hole completely through the neoprene, and thereby eliminating the water-leakage holes along the seam. Blindstitch seams also lay flat, butting up the edge of one sheet against another, allowing the material to lay flatter and closer to the skin. For these reasons blindstitching rapidly became the primary method of sewing wetsuits together, with other stitching methods now used mainly for decorative or stylistic purposes.


title: Wetsuit

text: Highly elastic fabrics such as spandex (also known as lycra) have mostly replaced plain nylon backing, since the nylon knit fabric cannot be stretched as much as when elasticised with lycra fibres. Incorporating lycra into the backing permits a larger amount of stretching that does not damage the suit, and allowed suits to be stretched more to fit while remaining acceptably comfortable, making the tailoring less critical.


title: Wetsuit

text: After the development of double-backed neoprene, singled-backed neoprene still has its uses. A narrow edge strip of smooth surfaced single-backed neoprene wrapped around the leg, neck, and wrist openings of the suit creates a more effective seal against the skin than the knit fabric backing, that reduces the flushing of water in and out of the suit at these places as the person moves. Since the strip is narrow, it does not drag on the skin of the wearer much and the lining makes the suit easy to put on and remove. The strip can also be fitted with the smooth side out and folded under to form a seal with a small length of smooth surface against the skin and slightly greater contact pressure. This type of seal can also be used on neoprene dry suits as it is sufficiently watertight when properly designed.


title: Wetsuit

text: In the early 1970s Gul Wetsuits pioneered the one-piece wetsuit named the 'steamer' because of the visible condensed water vapour given off from the suit when taken off, allowing heat and water held inside to escape. One-piece wetsuits are still sometimes referred to as 'steamers'.


title: Wetsuit

text: As wetsuit manufacturers continued to develop suit designs, they found ways that the materials could be further optimized and customized. The O'Neill "Animal Skin" created in 1974 by then Director of Marketing, E.J. Armstrong, was one of the first designs combining a turtle-neck based on the popular Sealsuit with a flexible lightweight YKK horizontal zipper across the back shoulders similar in concept to the inflatable watertight Supersuit (developed by Jack O'Neill in the late 1960s). The "Animal Skin" eventually evolved molded rubber patterns bonded onto the exterior of the neoprene sheeting (a technique E.J. Armstrong developed for application of the moulded raised rubber Supersuit logo to replace the standard flat decals). This has been carried on as stylized reinforcing pads of rubber on the knees and elbows to protect the suit from wear, and allows logos to be directly bonded onto raw sheet rubber. Additionally, the "Animal Skin's" looser fit allowed for the use of a supplemental vest in extreme conditions.


title: Wetsuit

text: More recently, manufacturers have experimented by combining various materials with neoprene for additional warmth or flexibility of their suits. These include, but are not limited to, spandex, and wool.


title: Wetsuit

text: Precision computer-controlled cutting and assembly methods, such as water-jet cutting, have allowed ever greater levels of seam precision, permitting designers to use many small individual strips of different colors while still keeping the suit free of bulging and ripples from improper cutting and misaligned sewing. Further innovations in CAD (Computer Aided Design) technology allow precision cutting for custom-fit wetsuits.


title: Wetsuit

text: As wetsuits continued to evolve, their use was explored in other sports such as open-water swimming and triathlons. Although double-backed neoprene is strong, the cloth surface is relatively rough and creates a large amount of drag in the water, slowing down the swimmer. A single-backed suit has a smoother exterior surface which causes less drag. With the advances of elastic Lycra backings and blindstitching, single-backed neoprene suits could be made that outperformed the early versions from the 1970s. Other developments in single-backed wetsuits include the suits designed for free-diving and spearfishing. Single lined neoprene is more flexible than double lined. To achieve flexibility and low bulk for a given warmth of suit, they are unlined inside, and the slightly porous raw surface of the neoprene adheres closely to the skin and reduces flushing of the suit. The lined outer surface may be printed with camouflage patterns for spearfishing and is more resistant to damage while in use.


title: Wetsuit

text: Some triathlon wetsuits go further, and use rubber-molding and texturing methods to roughen up the surface of the suit on the forearms, to increase drag and help pull the swimmer forwards through the water. Extremely thin 1 mm neoprene is also often used in the under-arm area, to decrease stretch resistance and reduce strain on the swimmer when they extend their arms out over their head.


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuits used for caving are often single-backed with a textured surface known as "sharkskin" which is a thin layer where the neoprene is less expanded. This makes it more abrasion resistant for squeezing between rocks and doesn't get torn in the way that fabric does.


title: Wetsuit

text: Another reason to eliminate the external textile backing is to reduce water retention which can increase evaporative cooling and wind chill in suits used mainly out of the water.


title: Wetsuit

text: Various configurations of wetsuit are available, with varied amounts of body coverage. Most can be worn alone or in combinations to suit the conditions:


title: Wetsuit

text: Some suits are arranged in two parts; the jacket and long johns can be worn separately in mild conditions or worn together to provide two layers of insulation around the torso in cold conditions. Typically, two-piece cold water wetsuits have 10 to 14 mm combined thickness of neoprene over the torso and 5 to 7 mm single thickness over the limbs.


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuits are available in different thicknesses depending on the conditions for which they are intended. The thicker the suit, the warmer it will keep the wearer, but the more it will restrict movement. Because wetsuits offer significant protection from jellyfish, coral, sunburn and other hazards, many divers opt to wear a thin suit which provides minimal insulation (often called a "bodysuit") even when the water is warm enough to comfortably forego insulating garments. A thick suit will restrict mobility, and as the thickness is increased the suit may become impractical, depending on the application. This is one reason why dry suits may be preferable for some applications. A wetsuit is normally specified in terms of its thickness and style. For instance, a wetsuit with a torso thickness of 5 mm and a limb thickness of 3 mm will be described as a "5/3". With new technologies the neoprene is getting more flexible. Modern 4/3 wetsuits, for instance, may feel as flexible as a 3/2 of only a few years ago. Some suits have extra layers added for key areas such as the lower back. Improved flexibility may come at the cost of greater compressibility, which reduces insulation at depth, but this is only important for diving.


title: Wetsuit

text: Foam neoprene used for wetsuits is always closed cell, in that the gas bubbles are mostly not connected to each other inside the neoprene. This is necessary to prevent water absorption, and the gas bubbles do most of the insulation. Thick sheets of neoprene are foamed inside a mould, and the surfaces in contact with the mould take on the inverse texture of the mould surfaces. In the early days of wetsuits this was often a diamond pattern or similar, but can also be slick and smooth for low drag and quick drying. The cut surfaces of the foam have a slightly porous mat finish as the cutting process passes through a large number of bubbles, leaving what is called an open cell surface finish, but the bulk of the foam remains closed cell. The open cell finish is the most stretchy and the least tear resistant. It is relatively form fitting and comfortable on the skin, but the porosity encourages bacterial growth if not well washed after use, and the foam surface does not slide freely against skin unless lubricated.


title: Wetsuit

text: The cut surfaces are usually bonded to a nylon knit fabric, which provides much greater tear resistance, at the expense of some loss of flexibility. This fabric can be bonded to one or both surfaces in various combinations of weight and colour, and can be thin and relatively smooth and fragile, or thicker and stronger and less stretchy. Fabric lined on one side only is more flexible than double lined.


title: Wetsuit

text: A specialized kind of wetsuit, with a very smooth (and somewhat delicate) outer surface known as "smoothskin", which is the original outer surface of the foamed neoprene block from which the sheets are cut, is used for long-distance swimming, triathlon, competitive apnoea, and bluewater spearfishing. These are designed to maximize the mobility of the limbs while providing both warmth and buoyancy, but the surface is delicate and easily damaged. The slick surface also dries quickly and is least affected by wind chill when out of the water.


title: Wetsuit

text: Both smoothskin and fabric lined surfaces can be printed to produce colour patterns such as camouflage designs, which may give spearfishermen and combat divers an advantage.


title: Wetsuit

text: Zippers are often used for closure or for providing a close fit at the wrists and ankles while remaining relatively easy to put on and remove, but they also provide leakage points for water A backing flap reduces leakage but can get caught in the zipper while closing.


title: Wetsuit

text: Jackets may have a full or partial front zipper, or none at all. Full body suits may have a vertical back zipper, a cross-shoulder zipper or a vertical front zipper. Each of these arrangements has some advantages and some disadvantages:


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuits that fit too tightly can cause difficulty breathing or even acute cardiac failure, and a loose fit allows considerable flushing which reduces effectiveness of insulation, so a proper fit is important. The quality of fit is most important for diving as this is where the thickest suits are used and the heat loss is potentially greatest. A diving wetsuit should touch the skin over as much of the body that it covers as comfortably possible, both when the wearer is relaxed and when exercising. This is difficult to achieve and the details of style and cut can affect the quality of fit. Gaps where the suit does not touch the skin will vary in volume as the diver moves and this is a major cause of flushing.


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuits are made in several standard adult sizes and for children. Custom fitted suits are produced by many manufacturers to provide a better fit for people for whom a well fitting off-the shelf suit is not available.


title: Wetsuit

text: Semi-dry suits are effectively a wetsuit with improved seals at wrist, neck and ankles and also usually featuring a watertight zipper. Together, these features greatly reduce the amount of water moving through the suit as the wearer moves in the water. The wearer gets wet in a semi-dry suit but the water that enters is soon warmed up and is not "flushed" out by colder water entering from the outside environment, so the wearer remains warm longer. The trapped layer of water does not add significantly to the suit's insulating ability. Any residual water circulation past the seals still causes heat loss, but this loss is minimised due to the more effective seals. Though more expensive and more difficult to take on and off than a wetsuit (in most cases, a helper will be needed to close the dry-zip, which is usually located across the shoulders), semi-dry suits are cheaper and simpler than dry suits, and in the case of scuba diving, require no additional skills to use. They are usually made from thick Neoprene (typically 6 mm or more), which provides good thermal protection at shallow depth, but lose buoyancy and thermal protection as the gas bubbles in the Neoprene compress at depth, like a normal wetsuit. Early suits marketed as "Semi-dry" suits came come in various configurations including a one-piece full-body suit or two pieces, made of 'long johns' and a separate 'jacket'. Almost all modern semi-dry suits are one piece suits, with the zipper usually being across the shoulders on the back, but other arrangements have been used. Semi-dry suits do not usually incorporate boots, and most models do not include a hood, (as creating a good seal around the face is difficult) so a separate pair of wetsuit boots, hood and gloves are worn, as needed. They are most suitable for use where the water temperature is between .


title: Wetsuit

text: Electrically heated wetsuits are also available on the market. These suits have special heating panels integrated in the back of the wetsuit. The power for heating comes from batteries also integrated into the wetsuit. More versatile is the heated neoprene vest that works in the same way as the heated wetsuit but can be worn under any type of wetsuit.


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuits heated by a flow of hot water piped from the surface are standard equipment for commercial diving in cold water, particularly where the heat loss from the diver is increased by use of helium based breathing gases. Hot water suits are a loose fit as there is a constant supply of heated water piped into the suit which must escape to allow even flow distribution. Flushing with cold water is prevented by the constant outflow of heating water.


title: Wetsuit

text: Usually a wetsuit has no covering for the feet, hands or head, and the diver must wear separate neoprene boots, gloves and hood for additional insulation and environmental protection. Other accessories to the basic suit include pockets for holding small items and equipment, and knee-pads, to protect the knee area from abrasion and tearing, usually used by working divers. Suits may have abrasion protection pads in other areas depending on the application.


title: Wetsuit

text: Using hoods: in the thermal balance of the human body, the heat loss over the head is at least 20% of the whole balance. Thus, for the sake of thermal protection of the diver, wearing a well-fitting hood is useful, even at fairly moderate water temperatures. Hoods have been reported to cause claustrophobia in a minority of users, sometimes due to poor fit. The hood should not fit too tightly round the neck. Flushing in the neck area can be reduced by using a hood attached to the top part of the suit, or by having sufficient overlap between the hood and the top part of the suit to constrain flow between the two parts. This can be achieved by tucking a circular flap at the base of the neck of the hood under the top of the suit before closing the zip, or by having a high neck on the suit.


title: Wetsuit

text: In many water sports such as scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing and even fishing, bootees may be worn to keep the feet warm in the same way that a wetsuit would. Insulation is proportional to thickness and thus to how cold the water which the user can tolerate; it may be above or below the standard of 5–6 mm of neoprene. In warmer climates where the thermal qualities of the bootee are not so important, a bootee with a thickness of 2–3.5 mm is common. The leg of the bootee may have a zipper down one side or may be tightened with a velcro strap. Where boots are worn with a wetsuit they are usually tucked under the leg of the suit for streamlining, to help hold the zip closed, and to keep foreign objects out.


title: Wetsuit

text: A bootee usually has a reinforced sole for walking. Typically, this is a solid rubber compound that is thicker and tougher than the neoprene used for the upper part of the bootee but is still flexible. The reinforced sole provides the wearer with some protection and grip when walking across shingle, coral and other rough surfaces.


title: Wetsuit

text: For scuba diving the sole of the bootee should not be so thick that the diver cannot get a fin on over it. Divers wearing bootees use fins with a foot pocket larger than needed with bare feet. Divers in warm water who do not wear a diving suit sometimes wear bootees so they can wear bigger fins. Diving bootees are typically intended for wear with open-heeled fins, held on by a strap, and usually do not fit into full-footed fins. Neoprene socks may be used with full-footed fins, either to prevent chafing and blisters, or for warmth.


title: Wetsuit

text: For surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and similar sports, bootees are typically worn where the weather is so cold that the surfer would lose some degree of functionality in the feet. The bootee should not restrict the ability of a surfer to grip the board with the toes in the desired manner. Split-toe bootees allow for some improvement in this functionality. Reef walkers are small bootees that are only as high as the ankle and generally only 2 to 3.5mm thick. They are designed to allow surfers to get out to waves that break at coral reefs or at rocky beaches.


title: Wetsuit

text: Several styles of wetsuit boots are commonly used for kayaking. Short-cut boots are frequently used in warmer conditions where the boots help give grip and foot protection while launching and portaging. In cold conditions longer wetsuit boots may be used with a drysuit where they are worn over the rubber drysuit socks.


title: Wetsuit

text: Wetsuit gloves are worn to keep the hands warm and to protect the skin while working. They are available in a range of thicknesses. Thicker gloves reduce manual dexterity and limit feel. Wetsuit gloves are also commonly worn with dry suits. Some divers cut the fingertips of the gloves off on the fingers most used for delicate work like operating the controls on a camera housing. If this is done, the fingertips are exposed to cold and possible injury, so thin work-gloves may be worn under the insulating gloves.


title: Wetsuit

text: For cold water use, thicker mittens with a single space for the middle, ring and fifth fingers are available and can provide more warmth at the cost of reducing dexterity.


title: Article (publishing)

text: An article or piece is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating news, research results, academic analysis, or debate.


title: Article (publishing)

text: A news article discusses current or recent news of either general interest (i.e. daily newspapers) or of a specific topic (i.e. political or trade news magazines, club newsletters, or technology news websites).


title: Article (publishing)

text: A news article can include accounts of eyewitnesses to the happening event. It can contain photographs, accounts, statistics, graphs, recollections, interviews, polls, debates on the topic, etc. Headlines can be used to focus the reader's attention on a particular (or main) part of the article. The writer can also give facts and detailed information following answers to general questions like who, what, when, where, why and how.


title: Article (publishing)

text: Quoted references can also be helpful. References to people can also be made through the written accounts of interviews and debates confirming the factuality of the writer's information and the reliability of his source. The writer can use redirection to ensure that the reader keeps reading the article and to draw her attention to other articles. For example, phrases like "Continued on page 3" redirect the reader to a page where the article is continued.


title: Article (publishing)

text: While a good conclusion is an important ingredient for newspaper articles, the immediacy of a deadline environment means that copy editing occasionally takes the form of deleting everything past an arbitrary point in the story corresponding to the dictates of available space on a page. Therefore, newspaper reporters are trained to write in inverted pyramid style, with all the most important information in the first paragraph or two. If the less vital details are pushed towards the end of the story, then the potentially destructive impact of draconian copy editing will be minimized.


title: Article (publishing)

text: Electronic articles are articles in scholarly journals or magazines that can be accessed via electronic transmission. They are a specialized form of electronic document, with a specialized content, purpose, format, metadata, and availability they consist of individual articles from scholarly journals or magazines (and now sometimes popular magazines), they have the purpose of providing material for academic research and study, they are formatted approximately like printed journal articles, the metadata is entered into specialized databases, such as the Directory of Open Access Journals as well as the databases for the discipline, and they are predominantly available through academic libraries and special libraries, generally at a fixed charge.


title: Article (publishing)

text: Electronic articles can be found in online-only journals (par excellence), but in the 21st century they have also become common as online versions of articles that also appear in printed journals. The practice of publishing of an electronic version of an article before it later appears in print is sometimes called epub ahead of print, particularly in PubMed, or simply ahead of print (AOP) or advanced online publication in the context of CrossRef.


title: Article (publishing)

text: The term can also be used for the electronic versions of less formal publications, such as online archives, working paper archives from universities, government agencies, private and public think tanks and institutes and private websites. In many academic areas, specialized bibliographic databases are available to find their online content.


title: Article (publishing)

text: Most commercial sites are subscription-based, or allow pay-per-view access. Many universities subscribe to electronic journals to provide access to their students and faculty, and it is generally also possible for individuals to subscribe. An increasing number of journals are now available with open access, requiring no subscription. Most working paper archives and articles on personal homepages are free, as are collections in institutional repositories and subject repositories.


title: Article (publishing)

text: The most common formats of transmission are HTML, PDF and, in specialized fields like mathematics and physics, TeX and PostScript.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The National Food Security Act 2013 (also 'Right to Food Act') is an Indian Act of Parliament which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of the country's 1.2 billion people. It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India. It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements. The Midday Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System (or, PDS) are entitled to per person per month of cereals at the following prices:


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The bill has been highly controversial. It was introduced into India's parliament on 22 December 2011, promulgated as a presidential ordinance on 5 July 2013, and enacted into law on 12 September 2013. Odisha government announced implementation of the act in 14 district from 17 November 2015. Assam government implemented the Act on 24 December 2015.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Coverage and entitlement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) : Up to 79.56% of the rural population and 64.43% of the urban population will be covered under TPDS, with uniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month. However, since Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households constitute poorest of the poor, and are presently entitled to 35 kg per household per month, entitlement of existing AAY households will be protected at 35 kg per household per month.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: State-wise coverage : Corresponding to the all India coverage of 75% and 50% in the rural and urban areas, State-wise coverage will be determined by the Central Government. Planning Commission has determined the State-wise coverage by using the NSS Household Consumption Survey data for 2011–12.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Subsidised prices under TPDS and their revision : Foodgrains under TPDS will be made available at subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains for a period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act. Thereafter prices will be suitably linked to Minimum Support Price (MSP). In case, any State's allocation under the Act is lower than their current allocation, it will be protected up to the level of average offtake under normal TPDS during last three years, at prices to be determined by the Central Government. Existing prices for APL households i.e. Rs. 6.10 per kg for wheat and Rs 8.30 per kg for rice has been determined as issue prices for the additional allocation to protect the average offtake during last three years.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Identification of Households : Within the coverage under TPDS determined for each State, the work of identification of eligible households is to be done by States/UTs.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Nutritional Support to women and children : Pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years will be entitled to meals as per prescribed nutritional norms under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes. Higher nutritional norms have been prescribed for malnourished children up to 6 years of age.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Maternity Benefit : Pregnant women and lactating mothers will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Women Empowerment : Eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Grievance Redressal Mechanism : Grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels. States will have the flexibility to use the existing machinery or set up separate mechanism.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Cost of intra-State transportation & handling of foodgrains and FPS Dealers' margin : Central Government will provide assistance to States in meeting the expenditure incurred by them on transportation of foodgrains within the State, its handling and FPS dealers’ margin as per norms to be devised for this purpose.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Transparency and Accountability : Provisions have been made for disclosure of records relating to PDS, social audits and setting up of Vigilance Committees in order to ensure transparency and accountability.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Food Security Allowance : Provision for food security allowance to entitled beneficiaries in case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Penalty : Provision for penalty on public servant or authority, to be imposed by the State Food Commission, in case of failure to comply with the relief recommended by the District Grievance Redressal Officer.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The intent of the National Food Security Bill is spelled out in the Lok Sabha committee report, "The National Food Security Bill, 2011, Twenty Seventh Report", which states, "Food security means availability of sufficient foodgrains to meet the domestic demand as well as access, at the individual level, to adequate quantities of food at affordable prices." The report adds, "The proposed legislation marks a paradigm shift in addressing the problem of food security – from the current welfare approach to a right based approach. About two thirds (approx 67%) of the population will be entitled to receive subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System. In a country where almost 40% of children are undernourished the importance of the scheme increases significantly."


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Indian Ministry of Agriculture's Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has referred to the Bill as the "biggest ever experiment in the world for distributing highly subsidized food by any government through a ‘rights based’ approach." The Bill extends coverage of the Targeted Public Distribution System, India's principal domestic food aid program, to two thirds of the population, or approximately 820 million people. Initially, the Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution estimated a "total requirement of foodgrains, as per the Bill would be 61.55 million <nowiki>[</nowiki>metric<nowiki>]</nowiki> tons in 2012-13." The CACP calculated in May 2013, "...the requirement for average monthly PDS offtake is calculated as 2.3 mt for wheat (27.6 mt annually) and 2.8 mt for rice (33.6 mt annually)..." When volumes needed for the Public Distribution System and "Other Welfare Schemes" were aggregated, the CACP estimated rice and wheat requirements to total an "annual requirement of 61.2" million metric tons. However, the final version of the Bill signed into law includes on page 18 an annex, "Schedule IV", which estimates the total food grain allocation as 54.926 million metric tons.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Standing Committee estimated that the value of additional food subsidies (i.e., on top of the existing Public Distribution System) "during 2012-13 works out to be...Rs.2409 crores," that is, 24.09 billion rupees, or about $446 million at the then-current exchange rate, for a total expenditure of 1.122 trillion rupees (or between $20 and $21 billion). However, the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) calculated, "Currently, the economic cost of FCI for acquiring, storing and distributing foodgrains is about 40 percent more than the procurement price." The Commission added,


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Commission concluded that the total bill for implementation of the Bill "...may touch an expenditure of anywhere between Rs 125,000 to 150,000 crores," i.e., 1.25 to 1.5 trillion rupees. As of the implementation deadline of 4 October 2014, only 11 states had either implemented the Act or declared readiness to do so. On 28 November 2014, the Indian government announced, "Allocation of foodgrains to 11 States/Union Territories (UTs) namely, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan has started under the Act..." and that the "remaining 25 States/UTs have not completed the preparatory measures required for implementation of the Act." The Indian government extended the deadline for implementation of the Act "by another six months, i.e. till 04.04.2015."


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Criticism of the National Food Security Bill includes accusations of both political motivation and fiscal irresponsibility. One senior opposition politician, Murli Manohar Joshi, went so far as to describe the bill as a measure for "vote security" (for the ruling government coalition) rather than food security. Another political figure, Mulayam Singh Yadav, declared, "It is clearly being brought for elections...Why didn’t you bring this bill earlier when poor people were dying because of hunger?...Every election, you bring up a measure. There is nothing for the poor."


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The report of the 33rd meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy stated, "...Food prices are still elevated and the food security bill will aggravate food price inflation as it will tilt supply towards cereals and away from other farm produce (proteins), which will raise food prices further...Members desired that the Reserve Bank impress on the government the need to address supply side constraints which are causing inflationary pressure, especially on the food front." Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla warned, "The food security bill...if implemented honestly, will cost 3 per cent of the GDP in its very first year." The writer Vivek Kaul noted,


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Indian Ministry of Agriculture's Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices warned that enactment of the Bill could be expected to "induce severe imbalance in the production of oilseeds and pulses," and "...will create demand pressures, which will inevitably spillover to market prices of food grains. Furthermore, the higher food subsidy burden on the budget will raise the fiscal deficit, exacerbating macro level inflationary pressures." The Commission argued further that the Bill would restrict private initiative in agriculture, reduce competition in the marketplace due to government domination of the grain market, shift money from investments in agriculture to subsidies, and continue focus on cereals production when shifts in consumer demand patterns indicate a need to focus more on protein, fruits and vegetables.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: India ranks 74 out of 113 major countries in terms of food security index. Though the available nutritional standard is 100% of the requirement, India lags far behind in terms of quality protein at 20% which needs to be tackled but no provision is made in the Act to subsidize the protein rich food products such as eggs, meat, fish, chicken, etc. India needs to concentrate on methods to improve the availability and affordability of protein rich food products using the latest technology without the need of additional land and water. Biogas or natural gas or methane produced from farm/agro/crop/domestic waste can also be used in addition to mined natural gas for producing protein rich cattle/fish/poultry/pet animal feed economically by cultivating "Methylococcus capsulatus" bacteria culture in a decentralized manner near to the rural / consumption areas with tiny land and water foot print.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The bill was very widely viewed as a "pet project" of Indian National Congress(INC) President, Sonia Gandhi. Gandhi addressed Parliament the night of the August 2013 Lok Sabha vote on the bill, saying its passage would be a "chance to make history".


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: Former National Advisory Council member and development economist Professor Jean Drèze, reputedly one of the architects of the original, 2011 version of the bill, wrote, "...the Bill is a form of investment in human capital. It will bring some security in people’s lives and make it easier for them to meet their basic needs, protect their health, educate their children, and take risks." Professor Drèze dismissed opposition from business interests, saying, "Corporate hostility does not tell us anything except that the Food Bill does not serve corporate interests. Nobody is claiming that it does, nor is that the purpose of the Bill."


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: In a rebuttal to Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla, three economists responded, "...the food subsidy bill should roughly double and come to around 1.35% of GDP, which is still way less than the numbers he put out."


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, 2012 law was enacted by the Chhattisgarh government. It was passed on 21 December 2012, by the State Assembly unopposed to ensure "access to adequate quantity of food and other requirements of good nutrition to the people of the State, at affordable prices, at all times to live a life of dignity.’’.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The priority households will have monthly public distribution system (PDS) entitlement of 35 kg rice, wheat flour, pulses, gram and iodised salt at subsidised price. "The new act will make the acclaimed PDS more comprehensive. Nearly 90% of the provisions incorporated in the Act were already covered under the PDS", the then chief minister Raman Singh said. The new initiative will put a burden of Rs. 2311 crore on the state exchequer. The act will not cover those who are income tax payees, own over 4 hectares of irrigated or 8 hectares of non-irrigated land in non-scheduled areas and who are liable to pay property tax in urban areas.


title: National Food Security Act, 2013

text: The Act benefits 42 lakh families living here. It will also cover families headed by a destitute, a widow or a differently abled person. It will also take care of poor, children living in hostels/ashrams, pregnant women as well as those hit by disaster.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Bulgaria committed to switching its currency, the lev, to the euro upon its joining the European Union in 2007, as stated in its EU accession treaty. The transition will occur once the country meets all the euro convergence criteria; it currently meets three of the five criteria. As the current lev was fixed to the Deutsche Mark at par, the lev's peg effectively switched to the euro on 1 January 1999, at the rate of 1.95583 leva = 1 euro, which is the Deutsche Mark's fixed exchange rate to the euro.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Bulgarian euro coins have not yet been designed, but their motif has been chosen to be the Madara Rider. Bulgaria officially joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) on 10 July 2020. Bulgarian government and central bank officials adopted a draft national plan for euro adoption on 30 June 2021. They stated earlier that day Bulgaria's intention to adopt the euro on 1 January 2024. In May 2022, the government adopted a more definitive version of its plan for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria that reaffirmed the country's commitment to adopt the euro on the target date.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: The Maastricht Treaty, which Bulgaria acceded to by way of its EU accession treaty in 2007, requires that all members of the European Union join the euro once certain economic criteria are met.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: In November 2007 the Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski stated that his goal was to comply with all five convergence criteria by 2009 and adopt the euro in 2012.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Besides not complying with the requirement to be an ERM-II member for two years, Bulgaria also did not satisfy the price stability criterion in 2008. Bulgaria's inflation in the 12 months from April 2007 to March 2008 reached 9.4%, well above the reference value limit at 3.2%. However, Bulgaria fulfilled the state budget criterion of only having a deficit at maximum 3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The country had posted surpluses since 2003, which in 2007 was at 3.4% of GDP. At the time, the EC forecast that it would remain at 3.2% of GDP in both 2008 and 2009. Bulgaria also complied with the public debt criteria. During the prior decade the Bulgarian debt had declined from 50% of GDP to 18% in 2007. It was expected to reach 11% of GDP in 2009. Finally, the average for the long-term interest rate during the prior year was 4.7% in March 2008, and thus also well within the reference limit at 6.5%.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: A 2008 analysis said that Bulgaria would not be able to join the eurozone earlier than 2015 due to the high inflation and the repercussions of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Some members of Bulgarian government, notably economy minister Petar Dimitrov, have speculated about unilaterally introducing the euro, which was not well-met by the European Commission.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Bulgaria met three out of the five criteria in the last convergence report published by the European Central Bank in June 2022.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: The lev has been pegged to the euro since the latter was launched in 1999, at a fixed rate of €1 = BGN 1.95583 through a strictly managed currency board. Prior to that the lev was pegged on par to the German Mark. While the currency board which pegs Bulgaria to the euro has been seen as beneficial to the country fulfilling criteria so quickly, the ECB has pressured Bulgaria to drop it as it did not know how to let a country using a currency board join the euro. The Prime Minister has stated the desire to keep the currency board until the euro was adopted. However, factors such as a high inflation, an unrealistic exchange rate with the euro and the country's low productivity are negatively affected by the system.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Simeon Dyankov, Bulgaria's then-finance minister, said in September 2009 that Bulgaria planned to enter ERM II in November, but this was delayed. It was then delayed further due to an increased budget deficit, outside the Maastricht criteria. Since 2011, Bulgaria's non-membership of the ERM has been the primary factor that prevented their euro membership, as Bulgaria met the other criteria for euro adoption. In July 2011, Dyankov stated that the government would not adopt the euro as long as the European sovereign-debt crisis was ongoing. In 2011 Bulgaria's Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov stated that adoption of the euro would be postponed until after the Eurozone crisis had stabilized.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: In January 2015, the then-Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov (under Prime Minister Boyko Borisov) changed approach and said, that it was possible for Bulgaria to join ERM-II before the term of current government. Goranov said he would begin talks with the Eurogroup and a co-ordination council to prepare the country for euro zone membership. The council was to draft a plan for the introduction of the euro, propose a target date, organisation and of the preparation work and coordination of the expert working groups. This was supported by the former governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, , who was in office when the currency board of the state was established. Paramov argued that adoption would "trigger a number of positive economic effects": "Sufficient money supply (leading to increased lending which is needed to improve economic growth), getting rid of the currency board which prevents the national bank functioning as a lender of last resort to rescue banks in financial troubles, and finally private and public lending would benefit from lower interest rates (at least half as high)." The former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, , agreed with Paramov, stating that it was possible to adopt the euro already in 2018, and "Bulgaria's membership in the eurozone will bring only positive effect on the economy" because "since establishing the currency board in 1997, we have been accepting all the negative effects of accession into the eurozone without getting the positive ones (access to the European financial market)".


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Following the 2017 parliamentary elections Borisov's government was re-elected. Borisov stated that he intended to apply to join ERM II but Goranov elaborated that the government would only seek to join once the eurozone states were ready to approve the application, and that he expected to have clarity of this by the end of 2017. On taking the presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2018, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov indicated no clarification had been given but announced he was going to pursue applications for both ERM-II and Schengen by July 2018 regardless. Bulgaria sent a letter to the Eurogroup in July 2018 on its desire to participate in ERM II, and commitment to enter into a "close cooperation" agreement with the Banking Union.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: In January 2019, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said he hoped that Bulgaria could join the ERM-II mechanism in July, and introduce the euro on 1 January 2022. However, this deadline was put back to July 2019 due to extra conditions requested by Eurozone governments, namely that Bulgaria:


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: While the CVM reforms are mentioned, and progress in judicial reform and organised crime is expected, leaving the CVM is not a precondition.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: As of October 2019, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov's target was to enter the ERM II by April 2020. In January 2020, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that it was possible for Bulgaria to join ERM II later in 2020 and adopt the euro in 2023 at first. Borisov stated in February that Bulgaria's application would be reviewed in July. In March the Bulgarian central bank said that this target was no longer realistic due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, in April Borisov stated that he would push forward the application by the end of April. The reason he gave for this U-turn was the 500 billion euros rescue package to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which the finance ministers of the Eurogroup had agreed upon on 10 April. On 24 April, Fitch Ratings announced that they would probably upgrade Bulgaria's Foreign-Currency IDR by two notches between Bulgaria's accession to ERM II and euro adoption: "… Given that the COVID-19 pandemic response is taking up significant resources with regard to political engagement at the EU-wide level, facilitating the Bulgarian lev's ERM2 accession may decline as a relative priority for European institutions. If concerns about risks ease and the process resumes, this would be supportive of the rating, as underlined by our view that all things being equal, we would upgrade Bulgaria's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR by two notches between admission to the ERM II and joining the euro."


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: On 30 April 2020, Bulgaria officially submitted documents to the European Central Bank to apply to join ERM II, the first step to introduce the euro. On 12 May, European Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis stated that Bulgaria could join ERM II together with Croatia in July, which both countries did on 10 July.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Because the lev is pegged to the euro at a fixed exchange rate, it can be argued that Bulgaria is already a de facto member of the euro area insofar that it cannot pursue an independent monetary policy and is therefore bound by the monetary policy and interest rate decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB) without having a say. Adopting the euro and thereby becoming a de jure member of the euro area would enhance Bulgaria's position by giving it a voice within the ECB.


title: Bulgaria and the euro

text: Moreover, the fact that the lev is pegged to the euro at a fixed exchange rate also means that Bulgaria cannot devalue its currency in order to make its exports more competitive. Therefore, Bulgaria would not lose anything in this regard by adopting the euro.