»Model European Union Zagreb 2013«
Govor na konferenciji »Model European Union Zagreb 2013«: Kako funkcioniraju institucije Europske unije?
With the support of BETA, MEUZ 2013 was organized by the Croatian Educational and Development Network for the Evolution of Communication (HERMES), a non-profit non-governmental organization in Zagreb, whose mission is education for democratic citizenship, through developing and applying innovative non-formal educational programs with a view to promoting non-violent communication methods such as structured and critical thinking, active listening and radical empathy as conflict resolution/prevention tools. HERMES' partnered also with the student association at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb Pravnik. Moreover, MEUZ 2013 enjoyed the official support of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb as well as the Delegation of the European Union in Croatia.
On 11-13 January, 46 participants (24 MEPs, 20 Ministers of the Council and 2 Journalists) from all over Europe gathered in Zagreb to debate about the Returns Directive and the Temporary Workers Directive.
The opening ceremony saw the introductory speeches of the Head of the Public Diplomacy Service at Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Zvonimir Frka Petešić and the Manager of the EU Information Centre at the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia, Avis Beneš. The key-note speakers were Andrej Plenković, the Observer in the European Parliament from Croatia, and Siniša Rodin, the Jean Monnet Chair and the Public European Law professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. During the closing ceremony, the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb awarded titles to the Best Minister in the Council and the best Member of the European Parliament.
Led by Director General Morana Miljanović, the MEUZ team is composed of graduates or students of the final years at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, with extensive experience in participating and chairing the Model United Nations and Model European Union conferences.
Given the great feedback gathered both during and after the conference from the participants, the increasing interest among student communities, as well as the considerable interest raised among the Croatian media, we can safely say that MEUZ 2013 was a major success and we look forward to the next edition!