MEUP
MODEL EUROPEAN UNION PARIS
Model European Union Paris is a high-quality simulation of European politics organised in Paris by BETA France. It aims at simulating the European decision-making process by mirroring the Union’s two co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and is also featuring a journalist team and lobbyists from various fields. Moreover, interpreters will add a multilingual dimension. This event will involve for the first time a representative of citizens.
After a first successful inaugural edition of the simulation, the second edition will be held in Paris, at the National Assembly, from the 3nd to the 6th of September 2019.
On this page you’ll find all the essential information for applying to MEU Paris, along with some Frequently Asked Questions and a presentation of all the roles that will be available at MEU Paris.
For additional information, don’t hesitate to contact us at participants.model.eu.paris@gmail.com and to follow us on our social networks. FB: https://www.facebook.com/ModelEUParis/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modeleuparis/\ \ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ModeleuP
Application guide
APPLICATIONS: https://bit.ly/2IP5Kuu
APPLICATION FOR INTERPRETERS: https://bit.ly/2KSQpf3
MEU Paris applications are open until the 30th of June.
In order to complete your application you must fill out the application form, which includes:
• The personal data required for your identification and access to our venue;
• If applicable, your previous experience in the simulation world and a short explanation (max. 100 words) of why you’d like to become part of MEU Paris;
• Two preferences concerning your allocation (Member of the European Parliament, Minister of the Council, Journalist or Lobbyist);
• Depending on your first preference, one essay (max. 400 words) on the corresponding question (cf. below to the role-specific notes);
• For journalists, an example of one of your previous journalistic work (optional);
• A personality question to choose from three questions (1. If you could change one thing about your personality at the snap of your fingers what would it be and why? OR 2. What are you most passionate about? OR 3. If you could be someone else for one day, who would it be? And why?);
• Some final questions regarding your stay in Paris.
*Journalist and Lobbyist can only be selected as your first preference, not as a second preference.
All the fields of the form must be filled in using British English. Participants must be between 18 and 28 years old before the first day of the conference (3rd September 2019).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What kind of profiles are you looking for?
None! All of them! Any of them! The European Union is about diversity (after all, its motto is “united in diversity”), so just be yourself! We’re not looking for a specific type of profile; we’re looking for the best combination to make MEU Paris a unique experience.
What will the topics be?
Participants in MEU Paris will discuss two topics : renewable energies and cybersecurity.
Which interpreting booths will be available? Which A-languages do you accept?
To be completely honest with you, we don’t know as of yet. There will be an EN/FR booth, but the remaining booths will be chosen based on the nationalities of most of our MEPs as well as the number of applications received per A-language. To give you an idea, last year French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian were some of the most prominent languages. But we don’t want to discriminate against less widely spoken languages, and if we receive enough interesting profiles in any given language to form a team, that’s exactly what we’ll do. So don’t worry about your A-language being too rare, just apply and we’ll see what we can do!
What are the participation fees for MEU Paris?
We want MEU Paris to be accessible to as many people as possible, and as a stay in Paris is expensive on its own, we have decided on a total fee of only 40€! We will provide lunch and coffee during the simulation.
What about accommodation?
Finding accommodation in Paris is not an easy thing. Finding cheap accommodation is even more difficult. We’re working on brokering partnerships with youth hostels in the city to provide participants with suggestions and rebates for booking their own stay. If our resources allow it, we want to offer a refund of accommodation fees of up to 150€ to all our participants. We will keep in touch with participants concerning any new development in this matter.
I need a visa to get to France, how can you help?
There is a dedicated question in the application form. If you need a visa, we will issue an official invitation letter along with your acceptation notification at the end of the application period.
I can’t upload my file on the form, what should I do?
You can send it to participants.model.eu.paris@gmail.com, we will add it to your application.
Roles presentation
Member of the European Parliament
Members of the European Parliament are the directly elected representatives of the European people. Whether they work in Brussels’ Committee rooms or Strasbourg’s plenary session room, the 751 MEPs represent more than 500 million European citizens.
If you are selected as an MEP you will be part of the biggest legislative body of the Union, with both a country of election and a political faction, of which you’ll be part during the simulation. As such you’ll have to defend not only your faction’s ideas (social-democrats, liberals, conservatives, nationalists…), but also the interest of your country of origin and the people there who elected you.
Being an MEP gives you the opportunity to live the full experience of a European lawmaker, from backroom deals to fiery speeches in plenary session, from building coalitions to trying to make a whole discussion fail. It’s a demanding but fulfilling role to take on!
Minister in the Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union (or just “the Council”) is the other legislative body of the European Union, and for long, before the Lisbon Treaty, it was the most important one, being the only one to decide on much of the policies of the Union. The Council is the place where the diverging interests of 28 Member States eventually, through harsh negotiations, converge and give life to EU law… Or often remain impossible to conciliate.
If you are selected as a Minister of the Council, you will be a key player in the political field and a member of the national government of the country you will be attributed to. These high-ranking elected official are in charge of carrying the interests of their national government, their political family, but most importantly to appease the public opinion back home.
Being a Minister can make you a powerful player in the permanent negotiation game that are European politics, as the vote (and public declarations) of even the smallest Member States often wields more power than the vote of any MEP.
Journalist
As any political organisation, the European Union is made of public policies and administrative decisions, but also of shady backroom deals and a complex web of relationships. And just as any other political organisation, the Union too has a deep love-hate relationship with the press.
Love, because if the press weren’t here to report on the job they do, European lawmakers would find themselves without means to express their deeds, their policies and their decisions to the European citizens who elected them in the first place. Hate, because the job they do often has a downside, a “House of Cards” -like aspect that they don’t want exposed.
As a journalist in MEU Paris, you will have the chance to experience for a few days the excitement of working to unveil the secrets of European politics, trying to report on hard-earned coalition making in the Parliament, conflict between Ministers arising in the Council or the discrete but effective undercover actions of Lobbyists.
Lobbyist
The European Union would not be complete without an essential but often undercover actor: lobbyism. Although policy-making is the job of Ministers and MEPs, all actors of society are trying to have their voices heard in the halls of powers. Some have huge financial resources and make a strategic and extensive use of their powers of persuasion, starting with the representatives of the European economic world. Others struggle to carry the voices of citizens with little to no resources and nothing but soft power to use.
As a Lobbyist, your role will be to defend the interest of the organisation you’re representing, either by convincing lawmakers to introduce changes that would help your company or your NGO, by short-circuiting similar initiatives from representatives of other interests or by trying to score goodwill points with lawmakers in helping them advance their agenda, in the hope that they will return the favour eventually.
Without Lobbyists, European politics are just a game of negotiations and compromises. With lobbyist, a different way of taking into account the citizens’ opinion comes into the equation.
Interpreter
Conference interpreters at EU institutions ensure that the discussions held at meetings are correctly interpreted into an official language of the EU, using either simultaneous or consecutive interpreting. EU interpreters work in a stimulating, multi-cultural environment, and must be able to communicate effectively, grasp varied and often complex issues, react and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, work under pressure, independently and as part of a team.
The same ist true for interpreters at MEU Paris: smooth communication will be your responsibility. You will interpret speeches and debates, both from English and French into your mother tongue. While MEPs will communicate in English, your work will be vital for the understanding of French guest speakers and also make the simulation more realistic. We are looking for a variety of different A-languages for our 2019 edition. There will probably be a EN/FR, DE, ES, IT or RU booth, but the final decision will depend on the nationalities of our participants as well as number of applications received per A-language.
At MEU Paris, you will work mainly in a simultaneous mode, but you may also get the opportunity to practice consecutive interpreting in a real-life situation as part of meetings with our French guest speakers. You will get the chance to put a variety of theoretical interpreting skills to the practical test in a realistic working environment with fascinating topics and motivated speakers - the best conditions imaginable for an excellent interpreting practice.
If you are a student or recent graduate in Conference Interpreting interested in gaining first-hand interpreting experience and meeting other interpreters and young people from all over Europe, do not hesitate to apply, no matter your A-language!