Model European Parliament


The Model European Parliament 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. 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: 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. 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.
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 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.

List of international sessions

The following international sessions have been held or announced:
  1. 1994 Spring:, The Hague/Maastricht
  2. 1995 Spring:, The Hague
  3. 1996 Spring:, Paris
  4. 1996 Autumn:, Dublin
  5. 1997 Spring:, Stowe/Oxford
  6. 1997 Autumn:, Carpi/Bologna
  7. 1998 Spring:, Stockholm
  8. 1998 Autumn:, Madrid
  9. 1999 Spring:, Bonn
  10. 1999 Autumn:, Luxembourg
  11. 2000 Spring:, Lisbon
  12. 2000 Autumn:, Vienna
  13. 2001 Spring:, Copenhagen
  14. 2001 Autumn:, Rotterdam
  15. 2002 Spring:, Ljubljana
  16. 2002 Autumn:, Dublin
  17. 2003 Spring:, Helsinki
  18. 2003 Autumn:, Athens
  19. 2004 Spring:, Warsaw
  20. 2004 Spring:, Luxembourg
  21. 2004 Autumn:, Budapest
  22. 2005 Spring:, The Hague
  23. 2005 Autumn:, Madrid
  24. 2006 Spring:, Vilnius
  25. 2006 Autumn:, Ljutomer / Ljubljana
  26. 2007 Spring:, Sofia
  27. 2007 Autumn:, Rome
  28. 2008 Spring:, Stockholm
  29. 2008 Autumn:, Bratislava
  30. 2009 Spring:, Nicosia
  31. 2009 Autumn:, Bonn
  32. 2010 Spring:, The Hague
  33. 2010 Autumn:, Istanbul
  34. 2011 Spring:, Tallinn
  35. 2011 Autumn:, Skopje
  36. 2012 Spring:, Ljutomer / Ljubljana
  37. 2012 Autumn:, Madrid
  38. 2013 Spring:, Norwich
  39. 2013 Autumn:, Vilnius
  40. 2014 Spring:, Vienna
  41. 2014 Autumn:, Luxembourg
  42. 2015 Spring:, Naples / Rome
  43. 2015 Autumn:, Berlin
  44. 2016 Spring:, Budapest
  45. 2016 Autumn:, Copenhagen
  46. 2017 Spring:, Maastricht
  47. 2017 Autumn:, Helsinki
  48. 2018 Spring:, Tallinn
  49. 2018 Autumn:, Toledo / Madrid
  50. 2019 Spring:, Paris / Strasbourg
  51. 2019 Autumn:, Valletta
  52. 2020 Spring:, Stockholm
  53. 2020 Autumn:, Sofia

    Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region

The Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region 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. 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:
  1. 2005 Spring:, Copenhagen
  2. 2006 Spring:, Tallinn
  3. 2006 Autumn:, Bremen
  4. 2007 Spring: /, Øresund Region
  5. 2007 Autumn:, Riga
  6. 2008 Spring:, Helsinki
  7. 2008 Autumn:, St. Petersburg
  8. 2009 Spring:, Toruń
  9. 2009 Autumn:, Copenhagen
  10. 2010 Spring:, Stockholm
  11. 2010 Autumn:, Kaliningrad
  12. 2011 Spring:, Vilnius
  13. 2011 Autumn:, Gdańsk/Gdynia
  14. 2012 Spring:, Copenhagen
  15. 2012 Autumn:, Leipzig
  16. 2013 Spring:
  17. 2013 Autumn:, Brugge/Blankenberge
  18. 2014 Spring:, Tartu
  19. 2014 Autumn:, Stockholm
  20. 2015 Spring:, Helsinki
  21. 2015 Autumn:, Oslo/Nesbru
  22. 2016 Spring:, Riga
  23. 2016 Autumn:, Kaliningrad
  24. 2017 Spring:, Elverum

    Model European Parliament Central and South East Europe

The Model European Parliament Central and South East Europe 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:
  1. 2015 Autumn:, Bucharest
  2. 2016 Autumn:, Sofia

    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, and the Netherlands.
List of WEMEP sessions:
  1. 2016 Autumn:, The Hague
  2. 2018 Spring:, Lier
  3. 2019 Autumn:, Koblenz-Bonn
  4. 2020 Spring:, Luxembourg

    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:
  1. 2017 Autumn:, Naples
  2. 2018: Autumn:, Athens
  3. 2019: Autumn:, Nicosia

    Similar projects

The European Youth Parliament and Model European Union are separate projects, but follow the same format as the Model European Parliament to some extent.