The Model European Parliament (MEP) is an international simulation of the working of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

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

: 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

, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

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 less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

. The elder members are titled as Presidents or Chairs, while the youngers are entitled as delegates.

Participating countries

, participants come from all 27

member states of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their o ...

as well as five of the nine candidate countries for membership,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. There are also three guest countries of the MEP which also participate, including

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. 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 narrower scope.

Connections to politics

Famous members of the

often visit the MEP, hold speeches and participate in debates. Some delegates of the international session in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in February 2023 had the honour to be welcomed by the

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

Roberta Metsola Roberta Metsola (; ; born 18 January 1979) is a Malta, Maltese politician who has served as the president of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist Party (PN) and the European ...

. Also the First Vice President of the European Parliament

Othmar Karas Othmar Karas (born 24 December 1957) is an Austrian politician who served as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament since January 2022, having been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999. He is a member of the Austrian ...

and the Vice Presidents

Rainer Wieland Rainer Wieland (born 19 February 1957 in Stuttgart) is a German politician who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament for Germany since 1997. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party. ...

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 Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. The international session in February 2023 in Brussels had the General Assembly in the building of the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

. Also national parliaments like the Narodno Sabranie in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, hosted international sessions in their plenary hall.

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: , Tallinn #2024 Autumn: , Athens #2025 Spring: , Strasbourg / , Kehl #2025 Autumn: , The Hague #2026 Spring: , Szeged / Budapest #2026 Autumn: , Porto

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: #2001 Autumn: ,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

#2002 Autumn: ,

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

#2003 Autumn: ,

Ljutomer Ljutomer (; ) is a town in northeastern Slovenia, east of Maribor. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ljutomer. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Mura Statistical Region. The economy of Ljutomer is la ...

#2015 Autumn: ,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

#2016 Autumn: ,

#2018 Spring: ,

#2018 Autumn: ,

#2019 Autumn: ,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

#2021 Spring: ,

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

(online) #2021 Autumn: ,

(online) #2022 Autumn: ,

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

#2024 Spring: ,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

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 ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

#2018 Spring: , Lier #2019 Spring: ,

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

#2020 Spring: ,

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

#2023 Spring: ,

#2024 Spring: , Lier #2025 Spring: ,

#2026 Spring: ,

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 # 2025: Spring: , Madrid

Similar projects

The

European Youth Parliament The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is the youth parliament for Europe. Legally an independent educational charity, it is a politically unbound non-profit organisation, which encourages European youth to actively engage in citizenship and cultur ...

and

Model European Union Model European Union Strasbourg (MEUS) is the original simulation of the European Union's legislative process organised by BETA France. It was initiated in the spring of 2007 by a group of university students and gathers around 180 young people f ...

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

References

{{European Parliament Politics of the European Union Youth model government Youth organizations based in Europe