These students were selected through their participation in the NSTF – Mini European Assembly, an event which has been organised for the past 15 years by the National Student Travel Foundation (Malta).
Participation in the Model European Parliament sessions was made possible through the support of the European Commission Delegation to Malta.
The Model European Parliament is an opportunity for young European students from all across Europe to discuss and come up with proposals on various issues tackled within the European Parliament itself. This event gave the Maltese students the opportunity to touch on international diplomacy and politics, and understand how the European System works.
The Maltese delegations in Poland and Luxembourg were divided into different committees where the groundwork for General Assembly took place. These committees (10 in all) discussed various topics, namely:
• foreign affairs, human rights, common security and defence policy;
• citizens’ freedoms and rights, justice and home affairs ( I and II);
• economic and monetary affairs;
• employment and social affairs;
• environment, public health and consumer policy;
• regional policy, transport and tourism;
• culture, youth, education, the media and sport;
• constitutional affairs (I and II).
Each committee worked for three days on drafting and perfecting resolutions.
The General Assembly was called on two consecutive days, where the students sat as delegations rather than in committees, and together discussed the 10 resolutions.
The whole week, characterised by intense discussions and lobbying, reached its peak with the General Assembly – the diplomatic decision-making forum.
The students attending the Model European Parliament session in Luxembourg were addressed by MEP Jacques Santer and former European Commission president, Claude Turmes MEP, Luxembourg Education Minister Anne Brasseur, European Parliament Information Office head Monique Schumacher and Model European Parliament Foundation secretary general Anna van Sminia, among others.
The Maltese delegation was also given the opportunity to visit the European Centre, European Commission and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where they met with Maltese personnel.
The students attending the Model European Parliament session in Poland were addressed by Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, City of Warsaw president Lech Kaczynski, Irish ambassador Thelma Doran, Polish senate president Longin Pastusiak, Polish parliament president Marek Borowski and Model European Parliament Foundation president Bo Kristoffersson, among others.
Cultural interaction was the basis to the success of the hard work during committee meetings and the General Assembly.
Being in contact with students from different European countries gave the Maltese students the opportunity to understand, talk about and integrate with other cultures, and with people from different backgrounds and regions.
Most of the delegates spent a lot of time with students from other delegations, thus breaking the divide and living as a democratic family committed to working together and living the “Integrated Europe” that Robert Schuman first proposed in a speech on 9 May 1950.
Model European Parliament Foundation secretary general Anna van Sminia commented on the Maltese students’ participation: “I am very much impressed with the high level of knowledge and the social skills of the Maltese delegates in Poland and Luxembourg.”
Alexandra Scicluna is head of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the National Student Travel Foundation (Malta).
For further information, contact Ms Scicluna on 2124-4983 or [email protected]