06 May 2024

Author: Nathalie Emmler
Proofread by: Ole Paech, Annika Klaus, Friederike Graupner, Sarah Walgern and Finn Holtmann

Slipping into the role of national decision-makers for two days and discussing artificial intelligence and cybersecurity with 160 young people from all over Europe – that was ConSIMium 2024, a simulation game launched by the Council of the EU.

On 8 and 9 April 2024, the national teams, each consisting of six students or trainees from the 27 EU countries, met in Brussels and simulated negotiations between the EU member states at four different levels. This was intended to give us participants as authentic and realistic an understanding as possible of decision-making and compromising in the European Council and the Council of the European Union.

The simulation took place in the Council meeting rooms where ministers, ambassadors and EU heads of state and government normally meet. In addition, the scenario was based on real European legislation and the negotiating positions of the countries. All participants represented a specific role: head of state, minister, ambassador, national expert or journalist.

We, the German team, consisting of Annika Klaus (Ambassador), Finn Holtmann (National Expert for Cybersecurity), Friederike Graupner (Minister), Nathalie Emmler (Journalist), Ole Paech (Head of State) and Sarah Walgern (National Expert for AI), had prepared for our roles in advance, but were still very excited to see what would await us on site.

First day

We started early in the morning. At 7:45 a.m., we first had to go through security before the programme on two EU Commission proposals on AI and cyber security could begin. After our head of state had delivered his doorstep declaration on the red carpet in front of the assembled journalists, the political guidelines were discussed and defined in the European Council meeting. The clarification of detailed questions was the task of the two national experts, who intensively discussed different positions on the drafts in their respective working group meetings.

A workshop on career opportunities in the Council and the other EU institutions was also on the agenda, as another aim of the simulation event was to get young people interested in working in Brussels and show them what opportunities are available. The evening ended for us in the hotel bar, where we continued our discussions with the other national teams or simply toasted the long day with a Belgian beer.

Second day

After a short night, a full programme awaited us again on day 2. While the ambassadors, supported by the national experts, discussed those points in the COREPER negotiating round where no agreement had yet been reached, our Federal Chancellor and our Minister had to answer questions from journalists in bilateral interviews.

We were also not granted a relaxed lunch before the ministers’ meeting. Via the social media platform set up especially for the simulation and due to a simultaneous interruption of the COREPER meeting, we received news of turbulence on the financial market triggered by algorithm errors, for which a hybrid attack was presumably responsible. The European Council was convened for a special meeting. An exciting turn of events so close to the decisive round of negotiations, which once again increased the pressure to reach an agreement. Such a compromise was finally reached in the Council of Ministers. The hours of discussion had paid off!

The day ended with a workshop on Strategic Foresight, which was designed to show us how current megatrends (migration, pollution, etc.) can be incorporated into policy-making and how they are interlinked. Tired and exhausted from two long days of negotiations, we ended the evening in the Delirium, a well-known Brussels pub. The next day we headed back to Germany, fuelled with new impressions and contacts and the knowledge that we had been part of a truly unique experience.

We would like to thank the DAAD for coordinating and supporting us during the event. We will not forget our time in Brussels!