MEC stands for Model European Council and is a role-playing exercice in which students from all the European schools - plus a few other schools - come together and simulate a meeting of the Council of Ministers. This happens once a year at various venues - in the past it has been held in Luxembourg, Munich, Copenhagen and Frankfurt. Each school is allocated one or two countries to represent, depending on the size of the school. Preparation for the MEC usually begins about six months before the actual conference. At this stage, all students from the 5th, 6th and 7th year (equivalent to 10th, 11th, 12th year in the American system) who are interested in participating meet once a week at lunchtime, and take turns making speeches, usually about current political topics. If you want to take part in MEC, you should have an interest in politics, be a decent public speaker and a good debater, as well as be moderately fluent in English. Good knowledge of German and/or French is also recommended.

The Delegates are Chosen

After about seven or eight weeks of speeches, the teachers make their choice as to who can participate; two delegations mean that 20 people will be able to go. After these 20 have been chosen, they all meet and decide among themselves who will represent which minister¹. The school which plays the role of the Commission has by then written up the list of topics which will be discussed in each of the council meetings, and the respective pupils will then have to begin the long preparation work. In it, they will not only have to become small experts on their topics, but also determine the official position of the real minister, which they then have to represent². This last point can be accomplished by making an afternoon visit to the Permanent Representations of whatever country your school represents, to talk to the delegates about their official positions on various topics.

The Conference

These weeks of hard work then culminate in the actual conference, a four to five-day affair usually held in December.

About half the time at the conference is spent at council meetings, where all the ministers responsible for one subject (eg all the Transport Ministers) sit in one room and debate the topics provided by the Commission. Depending on EU legislation, some topics only need a qualified majority (QMV) in order to be passed, while others need unanimity. Regardless, each minister's job is to try and convince the other ministers of his or her point of view, so that it will be put into 'law'. From time to time, each delegation will meet (eg all the Finnish ministers) to discuss progress made in the various committees, and to coordinate their efforts. Also, there is an opening and a closing plenary session, where all the participants come together, where the prime ministers make their opening and closing speeches, and where press conferences are held.

The 'press' consists of two rival newspapers, played by two schools, who 'check' your performance. They behave in similar fashion to the real press: they are always on the lookout for blunders, mistakes, inconsistencies and the like, and they can demand an interview with you if you have been particularly controversial, annoying or otherwise. It is also they who nab you if you haven't prepared yourself enough or don't look like you know what you are talking about. Also, they often publish quotes from the various councils, usually with the purpose of incrimnating someone, eg Commissioner for Foreign Affairs: 'Greece, you're not the world superpower you once were, two thousand years ago'. The plenary sessions are the only time where simultaneous translation is available, which is why they stress the importance of fluency in as many of the three working languages - English, French and German - as possible.

The Purpose

The MEC has now been running for fifteen years. Its purpose is to educate students in European politics, and to give them a chance to practice their debating and public speaking skills. And despite the arduous preparatory work, the Councils themselves are brilliant fun. Anyone who has enough patience and perseverance to see the preparation work to its conclusion will have an absolutely fabulous time.

Unfortunately, the MEC is an internal forum, limited to students from the European Schools. But if that's you, then you're welcome to participate.