The Model European Parliament (MEP) is an international simulation of the working of the European Parliament for students aged 16–19. The aim of the programme is to give young people an insight into the workings of the European Parliament and raise their awareness of European citizenship. Two sessions are held each year, each involving 180 secondary school students. Format The format of the MEP resembles that of the actual European Parliament: approximately 15 delegates of different nationalities form a committee that debates a certain topic extensively and drafts a resolution, a non-binding piece of legislation outlining the key issues of the topic and proposing solutions. The drafting process is followed by lobbying, during which delegates may debate and propose amendments for other resolutions. The finale of a session is the General Assembly (GA). During this, resolutions and amendments are debated and voted upon by all of the delegates. Any successful resolutions are then forwarded to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. The elder members are titled as Presidents or Chairs, while the youngers are entitled as delegates. Participating countries , participants come from all 28 member states of the European Union and two candidate countries: Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. Each country can choose five delegates in any way they deem appropriate. Many hold regional and/or national sessions using the same format but with a smaller scope. List of international sessions The following international sessions have been held or announced: 1994 Spring: , The Hague/Maastricht 1995 Spring: , The Hague 1996 Spring: , Paris 1996 Autumn: , Dublin 1997 Spring: , Stowe/Oxford 1997 Autumn: , Carpi/Bologna 1998 Spring: , Stockholm 1998 Autumn: , Madrid 1999 Spring: , Bonn 1999 Autumn: , Luxembourg 2000 Spring: , Lisbon 2000 Autumn: , Vienna 2001 Spring: , Copenhagen 2001 Autumn: , Rotterdam 2002 Spring: , Ljubljana 2002 Autumn: , Dublin 2003 Spring: , Helsinki 2003 Autumn: , Athens 2004 Spring: , Warsaw 2004 Spring: , Luxembourg 2004 Autumn: , Budapest 2005 Spring: , The Hague 2005 Autumn: , Madrid 2006 Spring: , Vilnius 2006 Autumn: , Ljutomer / Ljubljana 2007 Spring: , Sofia 2007 Autumn: , Rome 2008 Spring: , Stockholm 2008 Autumn: , Bratislava 2009 Spring: , Nicosia 2009 Autumn: , Bonn 2010 Spring: , The Hague 2010 Autumn: , Istanbul 2011 Spring: , Tallinn 2011 Autumn: , Skopje 2012 Spring: , Ljutomer / Ljubljana 2012