Online simulation game "Destination Europe" on 11 May 2023 with the Albrecht-Thaer-Schule in Celle, Germany and the Slotshaven Gymnasium in Holbæk, Denmark

On the 11th of May 2023, around 40 pupils from the Albrecht-Thaer-Schule - BBS III Celle (Germany) and the Slotshaven Gymnasium in Holbæk (Denmark) learned about the European legislative process and the institutions of the European Union involved in all their breadth and complexity. The simulation game "Destination Europe" was played. For one day, the participants dealt with the EU refugee and asylum policy. In doing so, they experienced the profound interplay of the three institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU - in the legislative process.

In the morning, the students first learned theoretically about the EU institutions and the legislative process. Afterwards, the current situation of the EU refugee and migration policy was presented in the form of a short input and the simulation game was explained.
The students were assigned role profiles and became members of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. On the initiative of the EU Commission, the members of the Parliament and the Council dealt with a legal act to create a binding, common EU refugee and migration policy. It quickly became clear that shaping policy and finding compromises is not that easy. In the European Parliament, there are many political groups with different points of view, and in the Council of Ministers, the ministers of the respective countries make sure that national interests are not neglected.
After the first reading, the EU Parliament and the Council of the EU were so far apart that they decided to agree on further negotiations and to delve even deeper into the matter of asylum and refugee policy.

The event was conducted by the CIVIC Institute in cooperation with Europe Direct Lüneburg.