Sixth Session Session of the European Council: New Topic!
May 2, 2019
After a refreshing Easter break, the European Council is back in session. On May 02, the new topic on the agenda is EU financial policy. Although perhaps not considered the most thrilling of topics, it does not lack historical significance. After a brief introduction into the topic, the debate was mostly lead by the leaders…
Read moreFifth Session of the European Council
April 4, 2019
In an exhausting overtime session, European leaders finally reached a minimal agreement on the future of European Defence Policy. During the session, the original proposal provided by Hungary, that had already received some criticism from the Commission, was further merged with another proposal from Germany. Upon reviewing and discussing the merged document, several clauses required…
Read moreFourth Session of the European Council
March 28, 2019
Debate remains fruitful, despite a slight drop in attendance. European leaders have started discussing a first draft of conclusions on the matter, spearheaded by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. With the Hungarian proposal on the table–“uncontroversial”, as Orbán called it–the Commission’s President Jean-Claude Juncker was compelled to address a number of issues with it. Wine-deprived,…
Read moreSecond Session of the European Council
March 14, 2019
With attendance still high, the European Council went into its second session on European Defence Policy. The Committee was joined by many new member, so the larger part of the session was spent on testing the other’s position, whilst finding one’s own.
Read moreFirst Session of the European Council
March 7, 2019
After all 28 current EU member states had been assigned, some even in double delegations, European leaders began discussing and assessing challenges to European security and sovereignty. Especially the issue of Russian aggression was perceived as quite controversial, and so a large number of countries joined the debate, with many successfully delivering their first their…
Read moreFinal Session HS18
December 13, 2018
In a fun and exciting (and a bit more casual) final session, committee members were eager to finalize any leftover drafts, but also took the chance to try out bolder strategies, without having to fear the fallout. This being said, the US, EU, as well as China managed to establish an intellectual property court, that…
Read moreSeventh Session HS18
November 18, 2018
In its seventh session, the WTO General Council began debating the issue of Intellectual Property Rights and their position in a digitalized world. Some members, such as Mexico, were keen to point to the issue of inequality between the rights’ owners and users. They were eager to strengthen users’ positions in an effort to protect…
Read moreSixth Session HS18
November 13, 2018
After decades of diplomatic gridlock and stagnancy, powered mainly by the determination of the United States to keep Iran isolated, the Iranian Delegation finally came forward with an astute proposition for the accession of Iran to the WTO. Having laid out a solid foundation of trust in the previous session among many delegations as well as…
Read moreFifth Session HS18
November 3, 2018
Although Iran submitted its application to the WTO in 1996 already, it had been on hold since. This changed now, as our simulation of the WTO General Council approached the topic. Delegates were quite eager to question Iran on its intentions and commitments in WTO. Bi- and multilateral negotiations with the Iranian Delegation are underway…
Read moreFourth Session HS18
October 27, 2018
With a slightly depleted Committee, mainly related to OxIMUN absences, and an absent Chinese Delegation, debate on the floor quickly exhausted. Bilateral negotiations, however, kept flowing, producing several new partnerships. The EU and the United States gave their Transatlantic Fair Trade Agreement its final (handwritten) touch, thereby establishing a complete Free Trade Area between the…
Read moreThird Session HS18
October 18, 2018
As news broke of the United States’ installment of import tariffs on Chinese iron and steel products in the amount of a whopping 50%, China immediately retaliated with tariffs of the same amount on American soybeans, cotton, and pork. The South Korean Delegation, currently under new leadership, changed its neutral course and steered right into…
Read moreSecond Session HS18
October 11, 2018
For the second session of the WTO General Council, numbers further increased, providing an even cozier atmosphere. Experienced, as well as new delegates joined the debate on the floor and exchanged a few first rhetorical blows. Both the US and China were eager to deny any responsibility for their quarrels, that have kept the whole…
Read moreFirst Session HS18
October 4, 2018
After having successfully managed a reasonably chaotic round of country assignments, the newly appointed delegates to the World Trade Organisation were briefed in detail on the rules and laws of international trade by former ZuMUN Secretary General Marc Sinner. As the first session commenced, all delegations were eager to take the floor. Although commitment was…
Read moreKick-Off HS18
October 1, 2018
This week our annual semester kick off took place. We were delighted to welcome over 100 ETH students. Thank you for the great evening and we hope to see many new faces at our first session on the 4th of October (19.15) at LEE E101.
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