For the first time Sofia was made a host to the so called „Model European Union“. The event was held between 24
th an the 28
th of November 2014. Young people from 18 to 28 years old from Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Moldova and Russia got into the roles of MEP-s, Ministers from the Council of the European Union and journalists.
The project with which IRRSA applied for finances from the Erasmus + was not only the first one to be approved, but also the only international one which managed to get financing from this program in the selection of projects in Key Action 3: „Support for Policy Reform“, „Structural dialog“ activity with a deadline 30.04.2014.
During the first day the contestants had the opportunity to learn more about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the European Neighborhood Policy. They were first presented by prof. Ingrid Shikova – „European Studies“ department in the Sofa University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Petar Ganev – Institute for Market Policy, Dobrin Stanev, PhD – „European Studies“ department in the Sofa University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Borislav Mavrov – Program Director in the „European Institute“, Ruslan Trad – „Arabic Culture Forum“, as well as by representatives of JEF Bulgaria. After their presentations the participants got to know the rules of procedure, which they had to follow for the next three days. After that there was a visit to the National Assembly of Bulgaria and there was a short lecture about Bulgaria’s history. At the end of the day there were Pubic speaking training with Dimitar Simidchiev and Negotiation training with Vasilena Tsvetkova.
In the next two and a half days the downright part of the model took place – a simulation of the legislation procedure in the EU institutions. Both the MEP-s and the Ministers discussed the pro-s and con-s of TTIP and ENP.
At the end of the simulation the participants learned what „Policy Cycle and Policy Consulting“ means as well as the methods and goals of the „Policy Think-Tank“. Later they were a part of the „World café“ type of discussion. The young people were divided into six different groups and had to lay down the problems, participants and the solutions to six main topics: „Will protectionism hurt the investments of the local producers?“, „What kind of environmental standards should the EU introduce?“, „How can he EU increase the transparency in the market transactions?“, „The future of the security with the EPN and the role of the EU“, „How can the EU deal effectively but humane with immigration?“, „How can the EU effectively help its neighbors for the process of democratization in them?“. Moderators of the discussions were Dobrin Stanev, „European Studies“ department in the Sofa University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Elisar Bashir from BluePrint and Kiril Yurukov – junior expert in the Ministry of Economy and Energetics of the Republic of Bulgaria.
During the closing procedure of the first Model European Union Sofia the best participants were awarded. Later that day everyone had the chance to visit Plovdiv, where they enjoyed a walk in the old town, and could learn more about Bulgaria’s history.
Three of the Bulgarian MEP-s Mariya Gabriel, Eva Paunova and Svetoslav Malinov send their greetings to all the participants, in which they explained what a vital part of Europe’s future the active young people are.
