Model European Parliament | |
---|---|
Frequency | Biannual (spring & autumn) |
Location(s) | Varies |
Years active | Since 1994 |
Previous event | Autumn 2023: Prague, Czech Republic |
Next event | Spring 2024: Tallinn, Estonia |
Participants | 180 students per session |
Organised by | Model European Parliament Foundation |
The Model European Parliament (MEP) is an international simulation of the working of the European Parliament for students aged 16–19. The aim of the programme is to give young people an insight into the workings of the European Parliament and raise their awareness of European citizenship. [1] Two sessions are held each year, each involving 180 secondary school students. [2]
The format of the MEP resembles that of the actual European Parliament: approximately 15 delegates of different nationalities form a committee that debates a certain topic extensively and drafts a resolution, a non-binding piece of legislation outlining the key issues of the topic and proposing solutions. [3] The drafting process is followed by lobbying, during which delegates may debate and propose amendments for other resolutions. The finale of a session is the General Assembly (GA). During this, resolutions and amendments are debated and voted upon by all of the delegates. Any successful resolutions are then forwarded to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. [4] The elder members are titled as Presidents or Chairs, while the youngers are entitled as delegates.
As of 2013 [update] , participants come from all 28 member states of the European Union and two candidate countries: Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. Each country can choose five delegates in any way they deem appropriate. Many hold regional and/or national sessions using the same format but with a smaller scope. [5]
Famous members of the European Parliament often visit the MEP, hold speeches and participate in debates. Some delegates of the international session in Brussels in February 2023 had the honour to be welcomed by the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. Also the First Vice President of the European Parliament Othmar Karas and the Vice Presidents Rainer Wieland and Evelyn Regner visited the session in several parts of the programme. The General Assembly of the sessions is often held in real Parliamentary or governmental buildings of the hosting country, region or city or the European Union. In 2019 there was a General Assembly in the real building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The international session in February 2023 in Brussels had the General Assembly in the building of the European Committee of the Regions. Also national parliaments like the Narodno Sabranie in Sofia,Bulgaria, hosted international sessions in their plenary hall.
The following international sessions have been held or announced: [6]
The Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region (MEP BSR) is an international organization that includes eight member states of the EU situated in the Baltic Sea Region, but also welcomes delegates from Iceland, Norway and Russia (Kaliningrad). The MEP BSR, which is organised and managed by the Model European Parliament BSR Association, uses the same format as the main international MEPs, but with ten delegates representing each country rather than five. [7]
List of MEP BSR sessions: [8]
The Model European Parliament Central and South East Europe (MEP CSEE) is an organisation largely similar to MEP BSR, but it invites students from member states Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, candidate countries the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and neighbouring countries Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. [9]
List of MEP CSEE sessions:
A Western European version was launched in Autumn 2016 with the participation of Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands.
List of WEMEP sessions:
The Model European Parliament Mediterranean Region is a non-partisan leadership programme for youth in Mediterranean countries. The aim of the MED MEP Region programme is to develop interest and skills in addressing high level international issues jointly among high-school students. The program is a training ground for future leaders and politicians, and is mainly aimed at Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, France and Turkey [10]
List of MEP MED sessions:
The European Youth Parliament and Model European Union are separate projects, but follow the same format as the Model European Parliament to some extent. [11] [12]
The European Youth Parliament is a politically unbound non-profit organisation, which encourages European youth to actively engage in citizenship and cultural understanding. It involves 50,000 youngsters from all around Europe in its events and has around 6,000 active members in the different countries. It was established in 1987 in Fontainebleau, France.
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
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UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in:
The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, political and cultural issues. The decisions of the assembly are advisory.
The 29th and final SPAR European Cup took place in June 2008. Track and field events were held on 21 and 22 June 2008 at the Parc des Sports Stadium in Annecy, France. Other event venues included Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Portugal and facilities in Istanbul, Turkey, Kadriorg Stadium in Estonia and SNP Stadium in Slovakia, and facilities in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The Parc des Sports Annecy Stadium was also stadium for 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was the last edition of the European Cup which from 2009 has been replaced by European Team Championships combining the men and women competitions.
The European Association for Japanese Studies was established in 1973 by European scholars in order to facilitate academic exchange in the field of Japanese studies within Europe.
This is a list giving breakdowns of the members serving in the European Parliament session from 2009 to 2014, following the 2009 election. For a full single list, see: List of members of the European Parliament 2009–2014.
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The 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from Friday, 1 March to Sunday, 3 March 2002 in Vienna, the capital city of Austria. This was the last edition to be held in an even year to avoid it occurring in the same year as the outdoor European Athletics Championships.
The 21st European Athletics Junior Championships were held between 21 and 24 July 2011 in the Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia.
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B was an international basketball competition held in Bulgaria in 2014.
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The EuroBasket Women 2023 qualification was held from November 2021 to February 2023 to decide the 14 teams to join the co-hosts Israel and Slovenia. It featured 38 teams split in ten groups of three or four teams. The ten group winners and the four best second-ranked teams qualified for the final tournament.