European Studies
UW European Studies

The EU Chocolate Directive Exercise

The chocolate simulation is a novel way to teach students about the European Union and some of the important issues its members must deal with as the EU becomes increasingly integrated. Student teams represent a member country, develop a position regarding chocolate regulation and scheme to reach the best outcome for their country. Along the way, they develop important skills, including:

  • Research
  • Analysis
  • Negotiation and debate
  • Speaking and writing
  • Critical thinking
  • Team work
  • Independent work

Why chocolate?

You need to ask? Chocolate has a fascinating history, especially in Europe. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was introduced to Europe in the 1500s. Over the centuries, strong cultural traditions have developed in each country. Opinions as to what exactly is chocolate are based on these traditions and lead to the 30+ year chocolate battle within the European Union. The resulting debate was – and still is – lively, animated and frequently entertaining.
Everything you need to hold the EU chocolate simulation in your class is found on these pages- except the chocolate!

Table of Contents:

The Great European Union Chocolate Battle

The Chocolate Battle for Teachers

Background and position

Teams should get to know the country they represent. On the Position Paper page, students are instructed to research their country and include pertinent information in a 1-2 page paper which states where their country stands on the chocolate issue. Since position papers should be shared with the other country teams, the rest of the class can learn basic background information on any country.

The First Session

  • Introduce the EU
  • Start with chocolate: If at all possible, begin with a sampling of a variety of European chocolate bars. At the very least, let your students taste the difference between Cadbury Milk and a darker, richer variety from Belgium, Spain or Germany.
  • Present the scenario: Tell the class the story of the “Great EU Chocolate Battle”
  • Describe the simulation

Assign Country Teams

Which countries?

When the actual Chocolate Directive was passed in 2000, the European Union consisted of only fifteen members. It is not necessary to include every member country either way. However, when choosing countries, it is a good idea to provide some balance in terms of the positions held in the debate, region and economy, and the number of votes allotted to each country. As an example, the following countries were chosen for the twelve-student chocolate simulation: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland and Portugal.

In reality, the debate was fairly evenly split between chocolate-purist countries and those making Cadbury style chocolate.

Purists: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, and Spain

 

 

Non-purists: Austria, Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Portugal

 

 

 

Vote Distribution

  • 55% of member states vote in favour – in practice this means 16 out of 28
  • the proposal is supported by member states representing at least 65% of the total EU population

This new procedure is also known as the ‘double majority’ rule.

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/voting-calculator/

A growing Europe

In July of 2004, ten new members were admitted to the European Union. Some EU experts expect the chocolate directive to be revisited in the near future because of the new challenges resulting from this expansion. Though information isn’t provided here on the new members and their position in the chocolate debate, it isn’t difficult to find information on chocolate and its production in many of these countries. (Using Google, search for “chocolate” and the name of a country.) You might discuss with your class after the simulation how things might have turned out differently if the directive were passed now.

What to do with an odd number of students?

You might add a role for members of the press. As a reporter, a student may interview country representatives (fellow students) and report conflicts, pacts and negotiations. They might also mix things up a bit by reporting real or made-up events – in or outside of the EU – that could impact the debate. The real example of child slavery in West Africa is a case in point. Or a made-up protest held by French and Belgian chocolatiers and their supporters could be reported. Be creative in determining how this ‘news’ reaches the rest of the class.

Once you’ve assigned teams…

…you can print out and distribute information sheets for each country team. Hand these out at the first session.

Simulation Material

The country placards are available on the simulation material page.

Country information sheets: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

In Between Sessions 

The Second Session : A practice run for the simulation… or simulation simulation

  • Prearrange seating
  • Set out country placards
  • Teams present their country’s position
  • Begin debate?

In between the second session and the simulation: Negotiation time!

Encourage teams to meet outside of class, call, email, IM, whatever. Or reserve some class time.

Simulation Day

  • General information
  • More formal – following “Rules Of Procedure”
  • Presidency welcomes delegates
  • Each team makes a general statement
  • Coalition proposals are presented
  • Controlled debate ensues
  • Brief breaks for informal negotiation if necessary
  • Must decide on policy before time is up, voting if necessary.
  • Your role: technical guidance

Preparation

Preparation

The most time-consuming part of holding any type of simulation is gathering the necessary background material. We’ve taken care of that part, so your preparation time will be little more than the time it takes to review these web pages. Before you introduce the simulation to your class though, you should: