Model EU – European Union youth simulation

Model European Union (MEU or ModelEU) is the simulation of the European Eunion’s legislative process.
This event is developed to be one of the world largest and authentic simulation of the EU’s decision-making process.

MEU is a simulation of European Union Politics and legislative procedures. It features legislative proposals for Directive or Regulations, which are selected by the organizing team on basis of importance and currency of the topics.

Participants can be divided into Members of Parliament, Ministers of the Council of the European Union, Interpreters, Journalists and Lobbyists in order to negotiate the directive or regulation according to their interests.

Throughout the course of the week, participants discuss, debate, negotiate and try to reach a compromise on the given proposals. This is achieved by following exactly the same procedures that actual MEP’s follow in an similar setting or location of the European Parliament.
For example, Model European Union Strasbourg has its own newspaper which covers not only the legal procedure, but also provides interviews with stakeholders and background information. The journalist team of each edition chooses the name for the newspaper and the whole team contributes to a daily issue of the newspaper. Additionally, there is a press conference taking place on a daily basis in which journalists can ask questions. Not only is this helpful for the journalists, but it makes it easier for all stakeholders to keep up with the development of the negotiations in both chambers.

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi), and an estimated population of over 510 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

The European Parliament (EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is composed of 751 members, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).

The city of Strasbourg (France) is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound to meet there twelve sessions a year lasting about four days each. Other work takes place in Brussels and Luxembourg City (see Location of European Union institutions for more information). Also all votes of the European Parliament must take place in Strasbourg. “Additional” sessions and committees take place in Brussels. Although de facto a majority of the Parliament’s work is now geared to its Brussels site, it is legally bound to keep Strasbourg as its official home.

The Parliament’s five buildings, all named after distinguished European politicians, are located in the Quartier Européen (European Quarter) of the city, which it shares with other European organisations which are separate from the European Union’s. Previously the Parliament used to share the same assembly room as the Council of Europe. Today, the principal building is the Louise Weiss building, inaugurated in 1999.

Directives
A directive is a legal act of the European Union, which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter.

Regulations
A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into national law. Regulations can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter.