European Youth Parliament

European Youth Parliament
Founded1987
FounderBettina Carr-Allinson (NL) and Laurent Grégoire (FR)
TypeEducational Charity
FocusInternationalism
Location
OriginsFontainebleau, France
Area served
Europe
Key people
Anya Suprunenko (Executive Director)
Volunteers50,000+
Websiteeyp.org

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is the youth parliament for Europe.[1] Legally an independent educational charity,[1] it is a politically unbound non-profit organisation, which encourages European youth to actively engage in citizenship and cultural understanding. It annually involves around 25,000 youth[2] from across Europe in its events and has around 6,000 active members in 40 countries. It was established in 1987 in Fontainebleau, France, as the first youth parliament in the world.[3]

The EYP operates in 40 European countries, both inside and outside the European Union.[4] A member of the organisation may be known as a Member of the European Youth Parliament (MEYP).[5] MEYPs are aged 14 to 28 and are elected by their peers to represent their schools, regions or countries as delegates in debates.[1][6]

History

The European Youth Parliament was founded by Laurent Grégoire (FR) and Bettina Carr-Allinson (NL), initially, as a school project at the Lycée François-Ier in Fontainebleau, to the south of Paris.[7] It is there that three of the first four International Sessions were held, starting in 1988, about a year after the idea took place.

It then developed steadily for a few years until it moved to Witney, Oxfordshire, in 1991, and was legally recognised as the European Youth Parliament International Ltd., a subsidiary of a charity created in 1992 for this purpose, the Fontainebleau Youth Foundation. The organisation experienced enduring growth for the next ten years, its network counting an increasing number of National Committees and its activities becoming both larger and more numerous. The National Committees stretch beyond the scope of countries within the European Union and try to encompass all European countries.

In the years 2001 to 2004, the EYP encountered various problems of financial nature. On 4 November 2004, however, the European Youth Parliament was reborn due to a mutual agreement between representatives of EYP's Board of National Committees, alumni and the Heinz-Schwarzkopf Foundation. The EYP's status since then has been a programme of the Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges Europa, and is hosted in Berlin, Germany.

The actual activities of the EYP never faltered during this period.

Since 2004, the EYP has introduced several reforms to introduce more transparency in its institutions and further enlarged its activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic lead to many EYP events moving to a digital platform.[8]

Currently the Charity has two patrons that are members of the Comité d’Honneur of the European Youth Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.[9]

Management

At the international level, the EYP is governed by an international board, the Governing Body. The Governing Body has six members elected by the National Committees and by the alumni of past sessions. A representative of the Schwarzkopf Foundation, as well as the EYP's executive director, are also members.[10] The board is largely responsible for the quality assurance of the International Sessions but also takes responsibility for the overall direction of the organisation and the long-term sustainability and protection of the organisation. The day-to-day business of the organisation is administered by a hired manager at the International Office in Berlin. Philipp J. Scharff was the manager from 2004 until 2008, Jan Phillip Beck (DE) from 2008 until 2011, Ville Vasaramäki (FI) from 2011 until 2013, Krista Lagus (FI) from 2013 until 2017 and Lukas Fendel (DE) from 2017 to 2020. Anya Suprunenko was appointed as Executive Director in 2020. In 2022, Pauline Chetail (FR) was made acting Executive Director as Anya went on temporary leave.

The branch of EYP in each country is known as its National Committee (NC).[11] The National Committees are free to choose how to manage themselves, provided they comply with basic democratic principles. The National Committees are responsible for organising and funding sessions of the EYP within their jurisdictions, this includes both regional and national sessions. International Sessions, however, can receive limited funding from the international office. Sessions finances are usually supplemented through partnerships with companies and other organisations.[12]

Apart from the National Committees, there can be Autonomous Committees (ACs) as well, which represent Autonomous European Territory which has been recognized by a majority of the member states of the Council of Europe.

The National Committees meet twice a year for the Board of National Committees (BNC).[13] There they discuss and vote on implementation of proposals put forward by members of the EYP. The event is moderated by the BNC board, consisting of three members of different National Committees elected to the role.[13]

List of National/Autonomous Committees and Initiatives

National Committees

  • Albania
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia [note 1]
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia [note 2]
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania [note 3]
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Türkiye
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

National Initiatives

  • Hungary
  • Malta
  • Moldova
  • North Macedonia

Candidate Autonomous Committees

  • Kosovo

Former National Committees

  • Belarus [note 4]
  • Russia

Former Candidate National Committees

  • Iceland

[note 1] - this national committee has a different name of Active young people of Estonia, Tegusad Eesti Noored in estonian, to the regular EYP format but is still connected to the wider network.[14]

[note 2] - this national committee is described as dormant on the official network website. [15]

[note 3] - this national committee is still described as a candidate. [16]

[note 4] - this national committee was shut down by the government of Belarus sighting anti nationalist sentiment of the charity. [17]

Main Source:[18]

Events

There are a number of different types of events organised across the network. [19][20]

Types of Events

Sessions

Debate Events within the EYP are generally known as a 'session'. Theses are the main events the charity puts on to help develop skills of citizenship participation.

Regional Selection Conferences (RSC)

These are sessions organised in local areas, these are generally smaller and select delegates to progress to a National Selection Conference. They can vary in length from 3 to 8 days. However, notably, in the United Kingdom the vast majority of regional sessions are only one day and more similar in format to a Small Scale Session.[21] Selection can take place at these conferences.

National Selection Conferences (NSC)

These sessions typically take delegates selected from RSCs and gathers them in one session. These sessions can vary from anywhere between 4 and 8 days. They are typically more upscale and prestigious than a country's regional sessions. Some sessions also field for individual delegates. The National Committee of the United Kingdom is an outlier in that they have two National Sessions.

International Sessions (IS)

International Sessions are often referred to as the EYP's flagship sessions. They are the most prestigious events that the network runs. They are hosted by a country but unlike the others involve help from the International Office and Delegates from a range of other countries that have been chosen from there NSC.

Each international session starts with a two-day Teambuilding part. This is followed by four or five days for Committee Work. A member of the European Parliament or some alternative expert will generally visit once to answer questions and quickly discuss the topic with the Committee.

As of Summer 2025, 103 international EYP sessions have taken place[22] (taking into account the Extraordinary International Session of EYP in Lillehammer, Norway, Winter 2010).

Fontainebleau
Thessaloniki
Lisbon
Kronberg
Prague
Barcelona
Oxford
Strasbourg
Ghent
Bern
Budapest
Luxembourg
Berlin
Brussels
Holstebro
Gothenburg
Dublin
Milan
Helsinki
Nicosia
Edinburgh
Granada
Vienna
Rome
Weimar
Hämeenlinna
Athens
Stockholm
Dubrovnik
Porto
Riga
Turin
Tallinn
Durham
Tábor
Stavanger
Basel
Bari
Paris
Ventspils
Kyiv
Potsdam
Stavanger
Białystok
Liverpool
Rennes
Leuven
Tromsø
Frankfurt
Lviv
Lillehammer
Grenoble
Zagreb
Istanbul
Amsterdam
Munich
Zürich
Tbilisi
İzmir
Tampere
Leipzig
Dublin
Belfast
Rennes
Laax
Valencia
Hamburg
Yerevan
Rotterdam
Vilnius
Brno
Trondheim
Novi Sad
Past international sessions plotted on a map

Past International Sessions[23] include:

Future sessions will include:

  • 104th International Session in Pordenone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), Italy, Spring 2026
  • 105th International Session in Niš & Novi Sad, Serbia, Summer 2026
  • 106th International Session in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Summer 2027
  • 107th International Session in Porto, Portugal, Autumn 2027.

Other

Training Events

Usually taking place internally, training events help members to develop there skills to become better Officials at Sessions. Theses are usually more casual and involve modules by more senior Officials. Theses can be called Member Training Weekends (MTW) or Training Academies.

International Forums (IF)

International Forums typically model themselves after an International Session, focusing on fielding delegates from abroad as well as their host country; however, they receive limited funding from the International Office. These are typically six to eight days long.


Structure

Sessions

There are a number of general components that make up multi-day sessions.[25] The exact length of each of the sections can vary according to the session type and organising National Committee. For One day sessions only the General Assembly is put on.

Chairpersons, Media, Organisers, and Jury (CMOJ) Day

On this day facilitators, or officials, of the event come together to engage in a short programme of team building activities then followed by a longer section of modules, delivered by more experienced facilitators to their juniors.

Team building (TB)

This is generally the day which delegates arrive to the session. The entire group of officials and delegates then typically come together to engage in 'general teambuilding' where officials are introduced to the delegates and large group games are played. The delegates are then split off into their committees and begin to get acquainted with each other. The delegates play different games which are meant to bring the delegates from an initial shyness stage to a comfortable, open atmosphere optimal for efficient Committee work.

Committee Work (CW)

During this time the delegates discuss a problematic topic on current European political matters and write a resolution on how to deal with the issue. These resolutions are modelled after real life examples from the European Parliament, however, they may be simplified. At certain events delegates may also engage in a workshop, talk or seminar with experts from the field during this phase.

General Assembly (GA)

This is the time in which committee resolutions are debated on by the delegates. Exact debate procedure can vary slightly and amendments may or may not be allowed. Delegates can generally vote for, against or to abstain.

Selection

Jury Members at the end of a session after will select delegates that have performed the best to be delegates in another session above the one they are in.


Training

Theses events usually involve Trainers putting on modules to help educate other junior members. Other than this there may be some social or teambuilding modules dependant on the NC.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Youth Parliament Toolkit: Executive Platforms for Future Leaders" (PDF). In partnership with United Nations Development Programme. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ "European Youth Parliament / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  3. ^ "History". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  4. ^ "Who We Are". European Youth Parliament UK. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  5. ^ "TY Update: May 2017". TY Update. No. May 2017. Transition Year Ireland. 30 April 2017. p. 33. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Thinking of joining the European Youth Parliament? We explain how to". European Youth Parliament. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Introduction | Amsterdam 2012 - European Youth Parliament (EYP)". Amsterdam2012.eu. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  8. ^ "1st Digital Session of the European Youth Parliament successfully concluded / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  9. ^ "EYP Patrons / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  10. ^ "EYP Governing body / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  11. ^ "EYP Youth-led organisation / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  12. ^ "For Partners". EYPUK. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  13. ^ a b "Who runs the EYP network? Part 1: A closer look into the work of the Board of National Committees (BNC) / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  14. ^ "European Youth Parliament spotlight on estonia". Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  15. ^ "EYP get involved". Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  16. ^ "EYP get involved". Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  17. ^ "EYP statement on the treatment of EYP belarus". Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  18. ^ "European Youth Parliament". members.eyp.org. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  19. ^ "What different types of events does the EYP organise? – Part 1: Sessions / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  20. ^ "What different types of events does the EYP organise? – Part 2: Capacity Building, Members, Outreach, etc. / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  21. ^ "Regional Forums". EYPUK. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  22. ^ "The 102nd International Session of the EYP in Turku, Finland! / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  23. ^ "EYP Past Sessions / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  24. ^ a b c d "European Youth Parliament". members.eyp.org. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  25. ^ "EYP Methodology / European Youth Parliament". European Youth Parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
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