Model European Union Zagreb

This article is about the Zagreb organization. For the similar event held in Strasbourg, see Model European Union Strasbourg.

Model European Union Zagreb (also known as MEUZ; http://meuz.eu/) is an international simulation of decision-making process in EU institutions. Participants slip into the roles of national Ministers, Members of the European Parliament, Journalists and Lobbyist. It is organized by the Croatian Educational and Development Network for the Evolution of Communication (HERMES) and the student association from the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb - the Croatian Students Association.

The first MEU took place in January 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia. The second edition took place in February 2014 and was announced the first Croatian national winner of the European Charlemagne Youth Prize, as the best youth project in Croatia in the year 2014. MEUZ 2014 was also held under the high patronage of the European Parliament, and among others, had the support of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the European Commission Representation in Croatia.

The third-edition, MEUZ 2015 will take place from 5th till 9 May this year. It will host 100 selected participants from 12 countries who will be assigned the roles explained below in the text. (--> APPLICATION PERIOD IS OPEN UNTIL THE 1ST OF MARCH. APPLY HERE: http://meuz.eu/apply-now/)

MEUZ 2015 enjoys the support of various institutions in Croatia and from abroad. First and foremost, MEUZ has the support of 3 Croatian mistries: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Economy. Moreover, it is supported by all 11 Croatian Members of the European Parliament, by the European Commission Representation in Croatia, as well as by the Information Office of the European Parliament in Croatia. Aside from these Croatian and European institutions, the Faculty of Political Science expressed its support to MEUZ as well.

Also, the third-edition of the project is organized in partnership with Bringing Europeans Together Association e.V. (Germany), BEUM Student Association (Serbia), A.D.E.L. - Association for Development, Education and Labour (Slovakia), International Relations Research Student Association (Bulgaria), Diplomats@Dundee (UK), Asociatia GEYC (Romania), Verein Model European Union Vienna (Austria), Jóvenes Europeístas y Federalistas de España (JEF España), Bringing Europeans Together Associacion España (Spain), AEGEE-Heraklio (Greece), Istanbul Global Genclik Dernegi (Turkey) and Stowarzyszenie Tea Club (Poland)

About

Model European Union (MEU) is a simulation of decision-making process in European Union politics and legislative procedures. Participants are divided in Members of Parliament(MEPs), Ministers of the Council of the European Union, Journalists and Lobbyists. During the conference, young Europeans get a first-hand insight into the workings of the political system of the European Union. Starting point for the debate are be two “real” proposals for legislation that have been drafted by the European Commission in recent years. Participants, in their roles as MEPs and Ministers, deliver speeches, work on amendments to the proposal texts and organize majorities in order to shape the legislation to their advantage. Journalists monitor and critically report on this political process throughout the simulation.^[1]

Roles

Roles of the participants are defined without regard to their personal ideological (political) preferences, which requires them to step out of their personal mind-frames and identify instead with the role they are given for the simulation purposes.

Ministers of the Council of the European Union

Ministers of the 28 national governments meet up and discuss policies and legislative issues. Their task in the simulation is to represent their national interests. In order to achieve a qualified majority in favor of their positions, Ministers have to form alliances with the Ministers of other 10 Member States. This can best be achieved by convincingly arguing in formal and private discussions with other Ministers by means of, among other things, using clever negotiating tactics.^[2]

Members of the European Parliament

Members of the European Parliament are directly elected to represent the citizens of the 28 EU Member States in the European Parliament. These representatives work together in political groupings at EU level. With support from their respective factions, MEPs debate and discuss proposals drafted by the European Commission, statements of the Council, newly released reports and general developments in EU life.^[3]

Journalists

Journalists examine the actions of both legislative bodies and make them more sensitive to public interests. Journalists keep all participants updated on the progress of discussions by producing a daily newspaper, tabloids and broadsheets.

Lobbyists

Lobbyists represent interest groups or causes before the law-making bodies. In the simulation, they speak on behalf of the organisation they represent, monitor the debates in the Parliament and Council, research and inform the delegates on the potential impact of their policy choices. Their purpose is to establish connection with politicians in order to get the Ministers and the parliamentary groups on their side.

Participation criteria

Residents of any of the 28 Member States of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 30 are eligible to apply to MEU Zagreb. Such criteria are to maintain the project goal of youth inter-European learning and networking. All applications are done online via website. --> APPLICATION PERIOD IS OPEN UNTIL THE 1ST OF MARCH. APPLY HERE: http://meuz.eu/apply-now/

References

http://meuz.eu/ https://www.facebook.com/modeleuropeanunionzagreb?fref=ts

External links

Strasbourg.org

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.