It is designed as a combination of the simulation of the decision-making procedure of the EU institutions (the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union), workshops and structural dialogues with decision makers on the current issues. MEUZ 2018 will be the sixth edition of the conference which is annually organized by a group of highly motivated students whose aim is to spread the knowledge about the EU institutions among their peers and prepare them for the EU of tomorrow. In previous editions, activities of the conference had a direct impact on more than 300 students and young professionals on their professional and personal development.
Overall, during the 5-day simulation, the participants will be assigned to the following roles: the Presidency of the Parliament and the Council of the EU, Members of the European Parliament, Ministers of the Council of the EU, journalist and lobbyist. Each one of them represents lively and realistically how things function in real EU institutions. Roles are assigned without regard to participants’ political preferences, what requires them to step out of their personal mind frames, disregard some preconceived ideas and biases, and to identify with the role they are given for the simulation purposes instead.
The Parliament acts as a co-legislator, sharing with the Council the power to adopt and amend legislative proposals and to decide on the EU budget. Members of the European Parliament sit in political groups – they are not organized by nationality, but by political affiliation. Therefore, participants will need to cooperate with other members of their affiliation, other factions, lobbyists and press if they wish to have it your way.
In the Council, government ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. The ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings. The Council is responsible for negotiations and adoption of the EU laws, together with the European Parliament, based on proposals from the European Commission. It also coordinates the EU countries’ policies and develops the EU’s foreign & security policy, based on the European Council guidelines.
A lobbyist represents an activist who seeks to persuade members of the EU institutions to enact legislation that would benefit your group. The lobbying profession is a legitimate and integral part of democratic political process that is not very well understood by the general population. Lobbying involves more than persuading legislators - professional lobbyists research and analyze legislation or regulatory proposals, attend parliamentary meetings, and educate government officials and corporate officers on important issues.
Journalists follow the daily discussions, write articles on what's happening and interview other roles. They recieve information for all sorts of reasons, some justified, others not, and it is their job to recognize occasions when people are not telling the truth, so they don't mislead the readers.
Not only it’s this the best way to learn about the EU politics, but it’s also a unique way to network and improve various soft-skills (like public speaking, negotiation and communication). It is up to them to challenge the decision-makers in the structured dialogues and meet like-minded ambitious individuals from all over the world.
Workshops and structured dialogues
So far, MEUZ has been a combination of a simulation and structured dialogues with the decision-makers. The simulation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union is a great opportunity for participants to feel the role of the members, and in that way, to learn how the decision-making process functions in real life.
On the other hand, a structured-dialogue is ideal for the participants to learn more about the given topics and to express and present their thoughts, ideas and comments to the decision-makers. And that is why the project is supported by the high institutions of Croatia, and co-funded by the Erasmus + program (three years in a row). It is truly one of the best ways to improve your understanding of the EU, to work on your public-speaking and communication skills, and to meet amazing young people from all over the world, who believe in the EU, at one of the biggest conferences in Zagreb!
Socials
A diverse social program provides participants the possibility to learn more not only about Croatian national and regional culture, but also about other participants’ countries and culture. It is a chance to relax away from the daily debates, to meet people from all around the Europe in a non-formal surrounding and thus to develop a wide, international social network, beneficial for both personal and professional development. Also, it provides a better cross-cultural communication, understanding and tolerance among participants.
It aims to improve the negotiation skills among participants, as well as to foster political engagement in the democratic process of the EU among the youth. In addition to knowledge on the EU, we want to give the chance to the youth to be able to influence decision-making process by making concrete political and legal solutions to European problems in interaction with decision-makers.
