The European Union Center hosted the Midwest preliminary round of the Euro Challenge on Friday, March 24 at the Illini Center in Chicago. Nine teams from eight high schools in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota competed, with three teams participating in person and six joining remotely. Each team gave a 15-minute presentation during which they discussed the current economic situation in the euro area; one economic-related challenge confronting the euro area as a whole, as illustrated by a country of the team’s choice; and policies for addressing this challenge.

York Community High School (Elmhurst, Ill.), St. Joseph High School (South Bend, Ind.), and International Academy Central (White Lake, Mich.) are advancing to the semi-final round in New York. Congratulations to the three teams, and thank you to all of the students and advisors for competing in Euro Challenge this year. Last but not least, thank you to our seven judges: Jennifer Babchuk, Doga Bilgin, Neil Bouhan, Magda Giurcanu, Natasha Panjwani, Stacy Scapino, and Phillip Torres.