Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) Bachelor students Paula Šūtava, Katrīna Rūmniece-Pakule and Konstantīns Šubņiķovs participated in the EU Simulation game #ConSIMium in Brussels on 2–3 February 2023 together with their coach, RGSL Visiting Lecturer Viktorija Soņeca.
Students from all EU countries took part in the simulation, trying various roles to understand the decision-taking mechanism in the Council of the European Union and the European Council. Students tried the roles of national experts, ambassadors, ministers, heads of state or government and journalists. Our students also had a meeting with the Ambassador Mārtiņš Kreitus, Deputy Permanent Representative of Latvia to the EU.
The topic played out at the simulation was the Climate change being back on the agenda in Brussels, where, in order to ensure the European Union can meet its ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, European leaders will gather to agree on how to get there, with a special focus on the transport sector.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in #ConSIMium, a Council simulation in Brussels. I played the role of Latvia's ambassador and attend a simulated COREPER meeting. This experience was very valuable and provided me with a deeper understanding of the EU's decision-making process,” says Paula Šūtava, RGSL Law&Diplomacy Bachelor programme Y3 student. “It was also an honor to meet Ambassador Mārtiņš Kreitus, Deputy Permanent Representative of Latvia to the EU.”
Our Law&Diplomacy Bachelor programme Y3 student Katrīna Rūmniece-Pakule was assigned the role of the minister. “During the simulation of the Council, I got to fully immerse myself in the role since the simulation was carried out in the same location and using the same protocol as in the real-life decision-making process. I finally witnessed in practice how vital yet complex it is to balance one's national interests with maintaining good relations with the other EU countries and their representatives. Furthermore, I got to expand my horizons by interacting with representatives from other EU countries and listening to the experiences of the people working in the European Council and the Council. Overall, my experience in the simulation was great and I recommend other RGSL students if presented with the opportunity to participate in this simulation next year.”
“For me, the experience was very interesting! It was exciting to represent my country and step into the shoes of European decision-makers to negotiate new policies together with my peers. This is a valuable experience for each and every law and a political science student!” says Konstantins Šubņikovs, RGSL Law&Diplomacy Bachelor programme Y3 student.