West Coast Model EU
Competition date: First weekend of March
Seattle, Washington
The University of Washington in Seattle hosts the West Coast Model EU Conference every March. Travel grants cover some costs incurred during the competition. Students apply in December and are selected early in January to participate. Those wishing to receive credit for this experiential learning opportunity may register in EUS 495 with permission of the program director.
The Model EU is a simulation of a European Council summit. Teams made up of undergraduate students represent EU member state delegations, as either the Head of Government or the relevant Minister. This is an excellent opportunity for students to develop several skills including negotiating (resolutions drafted by consensus - very different than debating!), public speaking, and diplomacy. Students are required to conduct in-depth research on the agenda items and their country's positions and prepare a policy position paper and a draft resolution. Students from all over the Pacific Northwest participate, making the experience an excellent networking opportunity for students with similar interests.
Please see the University of Washington website for more information about the West Coast Model EU.
HOW TO APPLY:
Only current full-time undergraduate students are eligible to apply.
Interested students should submit a CV and letter of intent according to the following instructions:
CVs should include:
- UVic student number
- Contact information
- Relevant work, coursework, and volunteer experience
Letters of Intent should include:
- Why you are interested in the Model EU
- What you are hoping to learn from the experience, and
- What skills/characteristics you have that would make you a successful participant
- Whether you wish to receive 1.5 units of credit for EUS 495 (this is optional)
Submit your CV and letter of intent as one .pdf with file name:
<ModelEULASTNAME> and send to eusprog@uvic.ca with West Coast Model EU in the subject line.
Depending on the number of applications received, an interview may be required.
For more information, read our student testimonials and take a look at Moira's blog to read about her first-hand experience as Minister of Agriculture for Hungary.
"Last year I started my MA at Carleton in Political Science and one of my TA professors was Martin Geiger who introduced me to his project Migration for Innovation where I have learned lots about high skilled migration and global innovation. For almost a year I have been a research assistant with this project. I received funding from Mitacs to research in Denmark for 12 weeks and from Carleton's Centre for European Studies.
I wanted to say thank you, and give a lot of credit to my interest in Denmark and migration to you and the European studies Department, without Model EU I don't think that I would have pursued studying abroad. Thank you."
-Alex Dauncey Elwood, Prime Minister of Denmark and Outstanding Head of State winner, 2015
Past West Coast Model EUs:
2024 WCMEU
Left to right: Sam Shipley, Coco Cunningham, Skyla Thomas and Jenna Inch
Congratulations to the following UVic students who represented the Irish and Czech delegations:
Coco Cunningham -- Head of State, Ireland
Sam Shipley -- Interior Minister, Ireland
Skyla Thomas -- Head of State, Czechia
Jenna Inch -- Interior Minister, Czechia
2024 Model EU Topics:
The Communication of the Presidency explains these topics in further detail.
Heads of Government:
- Clarify the long-term status of Türkiye’s European Union membership application
- Stand up a coherent European defense capability parallel to NATO
Interior Ministers:
- Require media and communications companies to open all encrypted customer communications to government agencies
- Expand Frontex as a unified Coast Guard agency in the Mediterranean
2023 WCMEU
Congratulations to the following UVic students who represented the Czech and German delegations:
Aidan Scarcella -- Head of State, Czechia
Jasper Van Weelderen -- Interior Minister, Czechia
Tara Matthews -- Head of State, Germany
Vanessa Aase -- Interior Minister, Germany
2023 Model EU Topics:
The Communication of the Presidency explains these topics in further detail.
Heads of Government:
- Adopt CSDP Sky Shield
- Establish new Energy Resilience Fund
Interior Ministers:
- Create Refugee Enhanced Solidarity Platform
- Expand Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid
2021 WCMEU
Congratulations to the following UVic students who represented the Cezch Republic and Cyprus delegations, and to Seamus Lim-Heley for winning a position paper award:
Laura Smith -- Foreign Minister, Czech Republic
Seamus Lim-Heley -- Head of State, Czech Republic
Svetlin Dimitriev -- Foreign Minister, Cyprus
Emma Judd -- Head of State, Cyprus
2021 Model EU Topics:
Please consult the Model EU website for a link to the Communication of the Presidency, that is, the detailed description of the MEU topics (downloadable pdf). In brief, those topics are
- Heads of Government:
- Governance – Enhanced Cooperation in light of the challenges of COVID-19
- Post-Brexit institutional realignment
- Foreign Ministers:
- Migration – Maintaining or expanding the EU’s agreement with Turkey regarding retaining migrants on its territory
- Expanding and normalizing certain ties, opportunities and programs with Russia
Portugal held the Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first six months of 2021 and was represented by the University of Utah.
2020 WCMEU
Left to right: Svetlin Dimitriev, Gabrielle Parent, Lily Hamilton
Congratulations to the following UVic students who represented the Italian and Romanian delegations:
Lilly Hamilton -- Head of State, Italy
Gabrielle Parent -- Labour/Commerce Minister, Italy
Svetlin Dimitriev -- Head of State, Romania
Emma Judd -- Labour/Commerce Minister, Romania
2020 Model EU Topics:
The Communication of the Presidency explains these topics in further detail.
Heads of Government: Major Climate Change Goals:
- Consider EIB Purge of Fossil Fuel Projects
- Support Lagging EU Members towards Compliance with Paris Agreement Goals
Labor/Commerce Ministers:
- Update 2016-2019 Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality
- Consider Job Training and Cultural Integration Programs
2019 WCMEU
(Left to Right: Nicholas Sociedade, Katie Curry, Alina Sobolik, Caleb Laranjeiras, Malcolm Thomson)
2019 WCMEU took place at the University of Washington on March 8-9th, where UVic's delegates represented Poland and Finland.
2019 Team:
- Alina Sobolik, Head of State for Poland
- Caleb Laranjeiras, Minister of Energy for Poland
- Katie Curry, Head of State for Finland
- Nicholas Sociedade, Minister of Energy for Finland
In 2019, the WCMEU featured two concurrent summit negotiation sessions focusing on the following issues:
- Common Immigration and Border Scheme
- Pipelines/Projects of Common Interest/Energy Independence
Special thanks to Malcolm Thomson (2018 attendee) who helped the students prepare before leaving!
2018 WCMEU
2018 WCMEU took place at the University of Washington on February 23-25, 2018, where UVic's delegates represent Belgium and Hungary.
2018 Team:
- Kadi Diallo, Head of State for Hungary
- Malcolm Thomson, Head of State for Belgium
- Moira Louw, Minister of Agriculture for Hungary
- Daphne Lewarne, Minister of Agriculture for Belgium
In 2018, the WCMEU featured two concurrent summit negotiation sessions focusing on the following issues:
(1) CAP Reforms - Rural Development and Food Security
(2) CFSP Reforms - Turkey and Battlegroups
Special thanks to Ninu Forrest (2017 attendee) who helped the students prepare before leaving!
2017 WCMEU
2017 WCMEU
2017 WCMEU took place at the University of Washington on Februrary 10-11, representing Luxembourg and Estonia.
2017 Team:
- Anna Dodd
- Ninu Forrest
- Isaac Hordiyuk
- Katrina Maclean
In 2017, the WCMEU featured two concurrent summit negotiation sessions focusing on the following issues: formal negotiations for BREXIT, and reforming the European Union's Fiscal Capacity.
Check out #wcmeu2017 or @eusuvic on twitter for photos!
2016 WCMEU
The 2016 WCMEU took place at the University of Washington,
on February 26th and 27th.
There were two info sessions held at the beginning of Novmber.
In 2016, the WCMEU featured two concurrent summit negotiation sessions focusing on the following issues: the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (regulatory protection and sustainable development, and Freedom, Security and Justice), and the refugee and asylum crisis in Europe.
The 2016 team:
- Lane Foster – Head of State, Lithuania
- Mohammed Adan – Minister, Lithuania
- Daniel Wiche – Head of State, Slovenia
- Elena Trenholme – Minister, Slovenia
The UVic teams were defending our two year title as Outstanding Head of State
(Alex Dauncy 2015, Kris Best 2014).
Congratulations to Elena Trenholme for her Honorable Mention.
2015 WCMEU
The EUS program sent 4 students to participate in the West Coast Model EU on 20-21 February 2015.
A huge thanks to UVic's Kris Best, the 2014 Outstanding Head of State as President of Latvia
for helping prepare the students for the 2015 Conference.
The team selected for this year to represent Croatia and Denmark are:
- Jordan Konyk (President, Croatia)
- Ben Lukenchuk (Labour and Pension System Minister, Croatia)
- Justine Reynolds (Minster of Employment, Denmark)
- Alex Dauncey-Elwood (Prime Minister, Denmark)
Congratulations to Alex, who won the Outstanding Head of State award!
This is the second year in a row UVic has won Outstanding Head of State!
The 2015 Summit featured two concurrent negotiation sessions focusing on:
- Common foreign and security policy
- Fighting youth unemployment in Europe
2014 WCMEU
- Kris Best - President of Lativia
- Linnea Jackson - Minister of the Interior for Latvia
- Kevin Ziegler - President of the European Commission
- Kimiya Missaghi - Commissionar of the Directorate-General of Homa Affairs for the European Commission
Kris Best won the 2014 award for the Outstanding Head of Government for her role in the West Coast Model EU.
See more about the conference here.
2013 WCMEU
- Bryan Benner- Head of Government for Greece
- Ben Hess- Minister of Interior for Greece
- Kimiya Missaghi- Head of Government/State for Slovakia
- Astrid Niemann-Zajac- Ministerof Interior for Slovakia
2012 WCMEU
- Devon Harlos- Minister of Agriculture for France
- Heather Larson- Head of Government/State for France
- Yang You- Minister of Agriculture for Lithuanina
- Andrew Reeve- Head of Government/State for Lithuania
2011 WCMEU
- Claire Muurmans- Austria
- Elyse Goatcher-Bergmann- Austria
- Kate Rattray- Estonia
- Andrew Reeve- Estonia
2010 WCMEU
- Laura Skoratko- Head of State for Malta
- Ashley Stewart-Minister of Agriculture for Malta
- Christina Winter- Head of State for Bulgaria
- Willi Fahning- Minister of Agriculture for Bulgaria
2009 WCMEU
- Alison Bartlett- Minister of the Environment for Belgium
- Manuelle Chanoine- Head of State for Belgium
- Jordan Carr-Hil- Head of State for Portugal
- Willi Fahning-Minister of Environment for Portugal