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Model Council of the EU Debate for Secondary Schools

The Model Council of the EU is a debate competition for secondary school students organised by the European Commission Representation in Ireland in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland.

Debate competition for secondary school students 

  • digital single market | cybersecurity
  • Friday 28 March 2025, 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
  • Dublin 2, Ireland

Practical information

When
Friday 28 March 2025, 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
Where
The Printworks
Dublin Castle, Dublin 2, Ireland
Languages
English

Description

The debate is a simulation of a meeting of the Council of the European Union in Brussels. It encourages teenagers to learn about the EU’s decision-making progress.

Teams from 27 schools represent the 27 EU Member States and they will debate a mock EU proposal from the viewpoint of their assigned Member State. 

The topic of the 2025 debate is “EU Digital Policy and Young People”.

The goal is to build consensus through negotiation and compromise. A judging panel will select the winning team based on a number of set criteria.

The winning team will be awarded a subsidised class trip to represent Ireland at a ‘Euroscola’ session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on 17 October 2025, where the students will become ‘MEPs’ for a day. They will also each win an IPad. 

The members of the 2 runner-up teams will also each receive an IPad.

How to take part

Applications for the 2025 competition have now closed.

If you have any queries about this event please email: COMM-IE-EDUCATIONatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (COMM-IE-EDUCATION[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).