Every April, more than 160 college and university students meet to decide the future of the European Union (EU). Playing the roles of prime ministers and presidents, ambassadors and commissioners, ministers and diplomats,they spend three days debating policy, resolving disputes, building compromises, and charting the course of European integration. The Midwest Model European Union (MMEU) is one of only a half dozen events of its kind in the United States.
Midwest Model EU
Created in 1993, the MMEU is the second oldest intercollegiate simulation of the EU in North America. Originally hosted by Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), the Midwest Model European Union moved to the Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) campus in the spring of 2014.
Design and Process
Colleges send delegations of 7 members each, representing the 28 EU member states. Over a period of 48 hours, they meet in formal and informal sessions as the European Council, the European Commission, and several different councils of ministers.
From Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon, students introduce, discuss, and reach decisions on EU policy. National leaders provide overall direction, ministers huddle to work out the details of policy, commissioners and their directors-general try to give new direction to foreign and security policy, the single market, eastward enlargement, and the development of the euro, and emergency joint meetings are held to break impasses.
Organization for EU-Midwest begins in January each year, when invitations are emailed to faculty advisers, and students begin forming delegations. There is a small participation fee ($150 per team in 2016), and the event is held at the Indiana University Memorial Union (IMU), with accommodation available at the IMU Biddle Hotel. Delegations take care of their own travel and food costs.
A total of 37 colleges and universities from thirteen states have taken part in past simulations:
- Ball State University, IN (Best Delegation, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2008, 2010, 2014)
- Bradley University, IL
- Butler University, IN
- Clark University, MA
- DePaul University, IL
- DePauw University, IN
- Denison University, OH
- Drake University, IA (Best Delegation, 2007)
- Drury University, MO
- Earlham College, IN
- Florida Altlantic University
- Florida International University
- Grand Valley State University, MI
- Indiana University-Bloomington, IN (Best Delegation, 2011)
- Indiana University-South Bend, IN (Best Delegation, 2001, 2005)
- Indiana University Southeast, IN
- Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, IN (Best Delegation, 1997, 1998, 2006)
- Iowa State, IA (Best Delegation, 2015, 2016)
- Kennesaw State University
- Luther College
- Maryville University, MO
- Missouri Southern State University
- Muskingum College, OH
- Oakland University, MI (Best Delegation, 2009)
- Principia College, IL (Best Delegation, 2000)
- Purdue University, IN (Best Delegation, 1996)
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, IN
- Stephen F. Austin State University, TX
- Syracuse University, NY
- Texas Woman's University, TX
- University of Arkansas, AR
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL
- University of Indianapolis, IN
- University of Missouri-Columbia, MO (Best Delegation, 2002, 2003, 2004)
- University of Missouri-St Louis, MO
- University of Notre Dame, IN (Best Delegation, 1993)
- University of Oklahoma, OK
- University of Wisconsin-Parkside, WI
- US Air Force Academy, CO
- Wayne State University, MI
- Western Illinois University, IL
- Western Michigan University, MI
The Model EU is really the high point of my various classes dealing with European politics, both for my students and for me.
Jonathan Olsen, Faculty advisor, University of Wisconsin-Parkside
The School of Global and International Studies