The Model European Parliament (MEP) is an international simulation of the working of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
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. Two sessions are held each year, each involving 180 secondary school students.
Format
The format of the MEP resembles that of the actual
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
: 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. 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 Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
and the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
.
The elder members are titled as Presidents or Chairs, while the youngers are entitled as delegates.
Participating countries
, participants come from all 28
member states of the European Union and two candidate countries:
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. 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.
List of international sessions
The following international sessions have been held or announced:
#1994 Spring: , The Hague/Maastricht
#1995 Spring: , The Hague
#1996 Spring: , Paris
#1996 Autumn: , Dublin
#1997 Spring: , Stowe/Oxford
#1997 Autumn: , Carpi/Bologna
#1998 Spring: , Stockholm
#1998 Autumn: , Madrid
#1999 Spring: , Bonn
#1999 Autumn: , Luxembourg
#2000 Spring: , Lisbon
#2000 Autumn: , Vienna
#2001 Spring: , Copenhagen
#2001 Autumn: , Rotterdam
#2002 Spring: , Ljubljana
#2002 Autumn: , Dublin
#2003 Spring: , Helsinki
#2003 Autumn: , Athens
#2004 Spring: , Warsaw
#2004 Spring: , Luxembourg
#2004 Autumn: , Budapest
#2005 Spring: , The Hague
#2005 Autumn: , Madrid
#2006 Spring: , Vilnius
#2006 Autumn: , Ljutomer / Ljubljana
#2007 Spring: , Sofia
#2007 Autumn: , Rome
#2008 Spring: , Stockholm
#2008 Autumn: , Bratislava
#2009 Spring: , Nicosia
#2009 Autumn: , Bonn
#2010 Spring: , The Hague
#2010 Autumn: , Istanbul
#2011 Spring: , Tallinn
#2011 Autumn: , Skopje
#2012 Spring: , Ljutomer / Ljubljana
#2012 Autumn: , Madrid
#2013 Spring: , Norwich
#2013 Autumn: , Vilnius
#2014 Spring: , Vienna
#2014 Autumn: , Luxembourg
#2015 Spring: , Naples / Rome
#2015 Autumn: , Berlin
#2016 Spring: , Budapest
#2016 Autumn: , Copenhagen
#2017 Spring: , Maastricht
#2017 Autumn: , Helsinki
#2018 Spring: , Tallinn
#2018 Autumn: , Toledo / Madrid
#2019 Spring: , Paris / Strasbourg
#2019 Autumn: , Valletta
#2020 Autumn: , Stockholm (online)
#2021 Spring: , Vienna (online)
#2021 Autumn: , Berlin (online)
#2022 Spring: , Bucharest
#2022 Autumn: , Sofia
#2023 Spring: , Brussels
#2023 Autumn: , Prague
#2024 Spring: , Tartuu
#2024 Autumn: , Athens
Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region
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.
List of MEP BSR sessions:
#2005 Spring: , Copenhagen
#2006 Spring: , Tallinn
#2006 Autumn: , Bremen
#2007 Spring: /, Øresund Region
#2007 Autumn: , Riga
#2008 Spring: , Helsinki
#2008 Autumn: , St. Petersburg
#2009 Spring: , Toruń
#2009 Autumn: , Copenhagen
#2010 Spring: , Stockholm
#2010 Autumn: , Kaliningrad
#2011 Spring: , Vilnius
#2011 Autumn: , Gdańsk/Gdynia
#2012 Spring: , Copenhagen
#2012 Autumn: , Leipzig
#2013 Spring: , Reykjavik
#2013 Autumn: , Brugge/Blankenberge
#2014 Spring: , Tartu
#2014 Autumn: , Stockholm
#2015 Spring: , Helsinki
#2015 Autumn: , Oslo/Nesbru
#2016 Spring: , Riga
#2016 Autumn: , Kaliningrad
#2017 Spring: , Elverum
#2017 Autumn: , Riga
#2018 Spring: , Iława
#2018 Autumn: , Sønderborg
#2019 Spring: , Copenhagen
#2019 Autumn: , Vienna
#2021 Autumn: , Copenhagen
#2022 Autumn: , Potsdam
#2023 Autumn: , Oslo
Model European Parliament Central and South East Europe
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.
List of MEP CSEE sessions:
#2015 Autumn: ,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
#2016 Autumn: ,
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
#2017 Autumn:
#2018 Autumn: ,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
#2019 Autumn: ,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
#2021 Spring: ,
Bratislava (online)
#2021 Autumn: ,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
(online)
#2022 Autumn: ,
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...
#2023 Autumn: ,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
/
Kirchheim bei München
Kirchheim bei München is a municipality in the district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 14 km east of Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of B ...
Model European Parliament Western European Region
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:
#2016 Autumn: ,
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
#2018 Spring: ,
Lier
#2019 Spring: ,
Koblenz/
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
#2020 Spring: ,
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...
#2023 Spring: ,
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
Model European Parliament Mediterranean Region
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
List of MEP MED sessions:
# 2017 Autumn: , Naples
# 2018: Autumn: , Athens
# 2019: Autumn: , Nicosia
# 2022: Autumn: , Milan
# 2023: Autumn: , Madrid
Similar projects
The
European Youth Parliament
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 h ...
and
Model European Union are separate projects, but follow the same format as the Model European Parliament to some extent.
See also
*
Model United Nations
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
References
{{European Parliament
Politics of the European Union
Youth model government
Youth organizations based in Europe