MEU Tallinn 2013
Model European Union Tallinn is a simulation of the decision-making process of the EU, where 120 young people (ages 18-26) from all over Europe will play the roles of Ministers in the Council of the European Union and MEPs (Members of the European Parliament). The simulation will take place on July 21-27 in various conference rooms in the heart of medieval but vibrant Tallinn during one of the liveliest weeks of the summer. MEU Tallinn will be both a fantastic educational experience as well as a great source of fun.
Last year students from Estonia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France, the UK, Spain, Georgia, Belarus, Russia, China took part, we expect more than 20 countries this year!
The application preiod is extended and will be open until May 31 (23:59 CET)
REGISTER HERE!
Every participant will have two roles during the conference – Minister in the Council on days 1-3 and MEP on days 4-5. The pre-conference improtant dates are as follows:
- May 13 - application answers sent out with specific role offer (both the country for the Council and the political group & country for the Parliament)
- June 13 - participation fee deadline
- June 20 - Commission proposals & other preparatory content material sent to participants
- July 13 - position papers due
If you have questions, don't hesitate to write to
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Activities
Arrival Day - July 21
There will be no programme for the arrival day, as according to the flight plan of Tallinn Airport there will be a large number of flights that will likely be carrying MEU Tallinn participants arriving shortly before or even after midnight.
Day One - July 22
Opening ceremony.
Orientation & rules of precedure workshop.
Council Day 1. Participants play the role of Ministers of EU member states in the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers). There will be four 28-member (Croatia having become the 28th member on July 1) formations of the Council, each with a different topic. A proposal will be presented by the European Commission (played by the Content Team of MEU Tallinn 2013) a month before the conference for a policy initiative which participants will have to discuss & amend.
Welcome party.
Day Two - July 23
Council Day 2. Participants continiue to discuss and amend the porposal of the Commission.
City tour.
Day Three - July 24
Council Day 3. Participants finalize their work in the Council and adopt a common position on the proposal.
Cultural evening.
Day Four - July 25
Parliament Day 1. Participants assume the role of MEPs and discuss the common positions of the four Council formations in political groups, make amendments and prepare for the plenary session of the Parliament.
Free evening.
Day Five - July 26
Parliament Day 2. Participants take part in a simulation of the plenary session of the European Parliament where documents adopted during the week will be amended and voted on.
Farewell party.
Departure Day - July 27
Departure of participants.
The participation fee is 95 Euros and covers:
- hostel accomodation during the event
- three meals a day (excluding arrival & departure days)
- all social events
Topics
1. JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
Entry-exit system and registered traveller programme
New technologies in the area of Integrated Border Management offer great potential to better facilitate border crossings creating and using smart borders. Current legislation does not allow for sufficient exceptions to the principle of thorough border checks. It is the Commissions aim to move gradually away from a "country-centric" approach towards a "person-centric" approach in order to substantially improve management of the external border, control travel flows and fight against irregular migration. The current difficulties in monitoring the authorised stay of third country nationals require a unified system to register entry and exit data of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States of the European Union. The Commission proposes establishing an Entry Exit System and a Registered Traveller Programme.
2. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument - proposals for updating the framework
EU's relationship with its neighbours has changed since the ENP (European Neighbourhood Policy) was first set up in 2004. Therefore, a new ENP vision has been developed (Joint Communication of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission ’A new response to a changing Neighbourhood’, adopted on 25 May 2011 and the Council conclusions adopted on 20 June 2011). Although the ENPI has been widely recognized as a successful Instrument to accompany the EU’s policy towards its neighbours, the ENP policy review and other assessments, lessons learned and public consultations have all identified a number of issues to tackle in the future by adapting the Instrument to make the EU’s response even more effective, such as complexity and length of the programming process, partly outdated implementation provisions and lack of coherence. The Commission proposes a number of updates regarding the principles, programming and funding of ENP.
3. ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
On implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of financial transaction tax (FTT):
The financial sector has played a major role in causing the economic crisis whilst governments and European citizens at large have borne the cost. There is a strong consensus within Europe and internationally that the financial sector should contribute more fairly given the costs of dealing with the crisis and the current under-taxation of the sector. Essential differences in opinion persist as regards the need to establish a common system of FTT at EU level and that the principle of harmonised tax on financial transactions will not receive unanimous support within the Council in the foreseeable future.
On the basis of the request of eleven Member States (Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia) the Commission submitted a proposal to the Council for authorising enhanced cooperation in the area of financial transaction tax.
The present proposal for a Directive concerns the implementation of the enhanced cooperation in the area of FTT. The implementation of a common system of financial transaction tax amongst a sufficient number of Member States would entail immediate tangible advantages.
On establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms:
The financial crisis severely tested the ability of national and Union-level authorities to manage problems in banking institutions. Meanwhile, financial markets in the Union have become integrated to such an extent that domestic shocks in one Member State may be rapidly transmitted to other Member States.
An effective policy framework is needed to manage bank failures in an orderly way and to avoid contagion to other institutions. The aim of such a policy framework would be to equip the relevant authorities with common and effective tools and powers to address banking crises pre-emptively, safeguarding financial stability and minimising taxpayers' exposure to losses.
The proposal harmonises national laws on recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms to the extent necessary to ensure that Member States have the same tools and procedures to address systemic failures. In this way, the harmonised framework should foster financial stability within the Internal Market by ensuring a minimum capacity for resolution of institutions in all Member States and by facilitating cooperation between national authorities when dealing with the failure of cross-border groups.
4. TRANSPORT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS & ENERGY
Electric cars, network of charging stations, environment-friendly energy supply and alternative fuels infrastructure
The Commission has called for breaking the oil dependence of transport and set a target of 60%greenhouse gas emissions reduction from transport by 2050. Tackling the social challenges like climate change, energy and resources scarcity, enhancing competitiveness and meeting the energy security by more efficient use of resources and energy are all areas of mutual interest and capabilities.
The proposal on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure aims at ensuring the build-up of alternative fuel infrastructure and the implementation of common technical specifications for this infrastructure in the Union. This can be achieved by requiring the implementation of common technical specifications and the build-up of minimum infrastructure for electricity, natural gas (LNG and CNG) and hydrogen as alternative fuels for transport.
A common European Railway Area
The Single European Railway Area (SERA) with an internal railway market could provide services without unnecessary technical and administrative barriers. The European Union has recognised the potential of rail infrastructure as a backbone for the internal market and a driver of sustainable growth. It has been agreed on, that rail should account for the majority of medium-distance passenger transport by 2050, also contributing to the 20 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions foreseen in the Europe 2020 Agenda. The opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail has the objective of intensifying competitive pressure on domestic rail markets, in order to increase the quantity and improve the quality of passenger services.
The proposal of establishing SERA aims at strengthening coordination between infrastructure managers and rail operators to better address market needs and at enhancing cross-border cooperation between infrastructure managers. The vision of establishing SERA requires the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure.
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