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Volt Europa

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Volt Europa
PresidentAndrea Venzon
Vice PresidentDamian Boeselager
FoundersAndrea Venzon
Colombe Cahen-Salvador
Damian Boeselager
Founded29 March 2017; 7 years ago (2017-03-29)
HeadquartersLuxembourg
Membership40,000 [1][2][3]
IdeologyProgressivism[4]
European federalism[5]
European Parliament groupGreens/EFA (elect)
Colours  Purple
European Parliament (German seats)
1 / 96
Website
volteuropa.org
Flyers by Volt in Germany

Volt Europa (frequently abbreviated Volt) is a pro-European and European federalist political movement that also serves as the pan-European structure for subsidiary parties in several EU member states. Volt candidates stood on a common, pan-European manifesto in eight member states at the European Parliament elections in May 2019. It was founded in 2017 by Andrea Venzon, supported by Colombe Cahen-Salvador and Damian Boeselager. The organisation follows a "pan-European approach" in many policy fields such as climate change, migration, economic inequality, international conflict, terrorism and the impact of the technological revolution on the labour market.[6] During the European Parliament elections in May 2019 the party won one seat by winning 0.7 percent of votes in Germany making front runner Damian Boeselager its first Member of the European Parliament.[7]

History

European elections 2019 promo by Volt Netherlands, May 2019

Volt Europa was founded on 29 March 2017 by Andrea Venzon, along with Colombe Cahen-Salvador and Damian Boeselager, on the same day that the United Kingdom formally announced its intention to leave the European Union under Article 50 TEU. According to the trio, Volt's foundation was a reaction to growing populism in the world as well as to Brexit.[8][9] In March 2018, the first national subsidiary party was founded in Hamburg, Germany. Volt has since established local teams in every EU member state with and is registered as a legal party in a number of these countries. The subsidiary with the most members is Italy, the home country of Andrea Venzon.[10]

Volt Europa was incorporated as a non-profit association in Luxembourg under the name Volt Europa,[11] abandoning a previous name of Vox Europe to avoid any confusion with a similarly named far-right Spanish party.[12] Today, the movement has more than 40,000 members in more than 30 European countries.[3] Around 70% of the current members are reported to not have been politically active before joining Volt.[13]

From 27 October to 28 October 2018 Volt Europa hosted its General Assembly meeting in Amsterdam, agreeing its Amsterdam Declaration, which also served as its manifesto programme for the European Parliament elections.[14]

From 22 to 24 March 2019 Volt Europa hosted its first European Congress in Rome,[15] presenting its candidates for the 2019 European Parliament election. The keynote speakers list included Paolo Gentiloni (former Prime Minister of Italy and President of the Italian Democratic Party), Emma Bonino (Italian senator and former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety), Enrico Giovannini (former Italian Government minister), Marcella Panucci (Director General of the General Confederation of Italian Industry), Sandro Gozi (President of the Union of European Federalists) and Antonio Navarra (President of the Mediterranean Center for Climate Change).

On 9 June 2019, following a pan-European vote of party members, Volt elected to join the Greens–European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament.[16] In the future, Volt hopes to be able to form its own political group in the European Parliament, which would require a minimum of 25 MEPs from at least seven different member states.

Ideology and policies

Economically, Volt Europa supports digitization, investment in the green and blue economy, the fight against poverty and inequality (also with the establishment of a European minimum wage), a more unified European tax system and the public-private partnerships to revive economic growth and reduce unemployment; it also supports solid investments on welfare policies, in particular related to education and healthcare.[17]

Socially, Volt supports anti-sexism, anti-racism and LGBT+ rights. Institutionally, it supports vast reforms of the European Union: a common management of migratory phenomena, a European army and eurobonds.[18][19][17]

In media reporting, the organisation is described as aiming to foster democracy on the EU level. It stresses the importance of a united European voice that is heard in the world.[20] Also, it supports the idea of a federated Europe with a strong European Parliament in which the citizens become the very center of European democracy.[21][22]

Volt is distinct from other pro-European movements such as Pulse of Europe or the European Federalists as it aims to participate in European, local and national elections through its subsidiary organisations in EU member states. Its first major objective is the European Parliament elections in May 2019.[23]

Volt Europa has been compared to Emmanuel Macron's La Republique en Marche movement[24] and could also be compared to recent pro-European parties such as NEOS in Austria.

National sections

Austria

As "Volt Österreich", the movement is also registered as a party in Austria and was planning to take part in the European elections in 2019.[25] The 2600 signatures necessary for this were not collected in time, Volt Europe was therefore not eligible for election in Austria. The party will attempt to run again in the upcoming national election in Austria 2019.

Germany

"Volt Deutschland" is Volt's registered political party in Germany, allowing it to compete in elections within the Federal Republic of Germany.[26] Volt Deutschland's basic programme is based upon a Policies Proposal, which is also fundamental for Volt Europe.[27] The initial focus will be on five "challenges" which Volt Deutschland wants to address at local, regional and national level, namely "an intelligent state, social equality, economic renaissance, politically active citizenship" and "global balance". In addition to these, it seeks to implement an overarching policy of transnational EU reform in accordance with the programmes of both Volt Deutschland and Volt Europa.[27] Volt Deutschland's programme for the 2019 European elections 2019 is identical to that of all other European sections. It was adopted as the "Amsterdam Declaration" by all Volt sections in October 2018.[27]
In the 2019 European Election "Volt Deutschland" gained 248 824 votes which is equivalent to 0.7% of total votes in Germany. As front runner Damian Freiherr von Boeselager will get one of the 96 seats from delegates from Germany in the European Parliament.[28][29]
"Volt Deutschland" was especially strong in German cities. With 2.9% the highest percentage of votes was gained in the city of Heidelberg. In Munich and Karlsruhe "Volt Germany" gained 2.2% of the votes. In the two largest German cities, Berlin and Hamburg, Volt's vote share was 1.2%.[30] Volt also received 1.2% of the votes for the election to the City Council in Mainz, which was held on the same day as the European Parliament elections, and gained one seat.[31]

The Netherlands

Volt Netherlands (Dutch: Volt Nederland) was founded on 23 June 2018 in Utrecht[32] and participated in the European Elections in May 2019. According to the preliminary official result, it achieved 1.9% of the votes and thus received none of the 26 seats.[33]

Italy

In Italy, Volt Europa took part to Novi Ligure's municipal election via its Italian branch "Volt Italia" gaining 1.43% of the votes.[34]

Switzerland

In Switzerland, Volt Europa reports regular meetings in Geneva and Zurich,[35] but is neither registered as a party nor takes part in elections. This is partly due to Switzerland's lack of membership of the European Union.

Elections

2019 European Parliament election

Member state Leading candidate Result Seats Note
Germany Damian Freiherr von Boeselager, Marie-Isabelle Heiß [36] 0.67%[37] 1 –
The Netherlands Reinier Van Lanschot[38][39] 1.9%[33] 0 –
Belgium Christophe Calis, Marcela Válková[40] 0.48[41] 0 Only participated in the Flemish electoral college
Bulgaria Nastimir Ananiev[42] 0.18%[43] 0 –
Luxembourg Rolf Tarrach Siegel[44][45] 2.1%[46] 0 –
Sweden Michael Holz[47] TBC TBC –
Spain Bruno Sánchez-Andrade Nuño[48][49][50] 0.14%[51] 0 –
UK Andrea Venzon[52] 0.00% 0 Andrea Venzon as an independent candidate in the London constituency only.[53]

In France (unable to raise €800,000 in funding to meet legal requirement to print its own ballot papers[54]), Italy (failed to collect 150,000 signatures[55]), Austria (failed to collect 2,600 signatures[56]) and Portugal (failed to collect 7,500 signatures[57]), Volt had intended to participate in the European Parliament elections but was unable to meet local requirements in time.[58]

Funding

The party uses crowdfunding as well as direct donations to fund itself. The party states that it publishes every donation exceeding 3,000 Euro per donation or donor per year within 15 days from its receipt on the party's website. As the two largest donors, the party's website lists the Open Society Initiative for Europe with 19,191 Euros as well as the businessman Christian Oldendorff, founder and CEO of ParkU,[citation needed], with a donation of 25,000 Euros (date 27.05.2019).[59]

The website of the German section lists several more donors. Among them are Christian Oldendorff with a donation of 95,000 Euros, Claus von Loeper with a donation of 20,000 Euros as well as several more donors listed with donations of 10,000 Euros or 5,000 Euros.[60]

References

  1. ^ Henley, Jon (14 May 2019). "Why the EU is witnessing the birth of real European politics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  2. ^ "EU elections summary". Twitter. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Volt Forlì al congresso paneuropeo di Roma 2019". Forlì Today (in Italian). 24 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Opinion: I'm standing to be an MEP because my party fears a tide of nationalism". The Independent. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  5. ^ Stagni·Interviews·December 6, Federica; 2018 (6 December 2018). "Time For Change: How Volt Wants To Fix Europe". Italics Magazine. Retrieved 9 June 2019. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "About us". Volt. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. ^ "2019 European election results - National results: Germany". Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Volt: Jugendpartei will die Idee der Europäischen Union retten". Wirtschaftswoche (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Volt wants to become the first pan-EU political party". The Economist. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  10. ^ "POLITICO Brussels Playbook, presented by the Barilla Foundation: Europe in 4 speeches — New US ambassador — A different Brexit story". POLITICO. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Legal". Volt. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. ^ Disegni, Simone. "I millennial di Volt vogliono dare la scossa alla Ue: rilanceremo l'Europa". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  13. ^ ""Nous voulons créer le premier parti paneuropéen"". Libération.fr (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Nieuwe partij wil van Europa een krachtpatser maken". RTV Rijnmond (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Il congresso. La sfida transnazionale di Volt Europa, il partito dei millennials". Avrebbe (in Italian). Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Volt Europa joins the Greens/EFA Group in the EU Parliament". scoopnest.com. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Volt Europa - Vision". volteuropa.org. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Otto e Mezzo - Giù le mani dall'Europa". la7.itf (in Italian). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Volt Europa si candida in sette Paesi e punta a 25 deputati". ilsole24ore.com (in Italian). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  20. ^ "Scende in campo la generazione Erasmus. Una conversazione con Andrea Venzon, presidente di Volt". European Circus (in Italian). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  21. ^ Dvořáková, Věra. "Volt wants to "energise Europe" – but how?". The New Federalist. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  22. ^ Disegni, Simone. "I millennial di Volt vogliono dare la scossa alla Ue: rilanceremo l'Europa". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  23. ^ "Volt - Eine neue Partei für Europa". www.hamburg1.de (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  24. ^ tagesschau.de. "Europawahl 2019: Italiener will für die EU begeistern". Tagesschau (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  25. ^ andreas.puschautz. "EU-Wahl: Europas erste Partei will auch in Österreich antreten". kurier.at (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  26. ^ Schmälter, Julia. "Volt Deutschland (Volt)". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  27. ^ a b c "Programm". Volt Deutschland. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  28. ^ Bundeswahlleiter (Federal Returning Officer). "Results European Election 2019". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |deadurl=, |day=, and |month= (help)
  29. ^ Theis, Marion (27 May 2019). "Volt-Spitzenkandidat Damian Boeselager: Union und SPD müssen Klimapolitik ändern" (in German). SWR2. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  30. ^ Bundeswahlleiter (Federal Returning Officer). "Results European Election 2019 on party level" (PDF) (in German). pp. 74 ff. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |day=, |month=, and |deadurl= (help)
  31. ^ Landeswahhlleiter. "Vorläufiges Ergebnis der Kreistagswahl 2019" (in German). Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 1 June 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |deadurl=, |day=, and |month= (help)
  32. ^ Korteweg, Ariejan (24 June 2018). "Nieuwe partij Volt wil de geschiedenis ingaan als eerste pan-Europese partij". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  33. ^ a b "Netherlands". POLITICO. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  34. ^ "Volt Italia - Candidati consiglio comunale Novi Ligure" (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  35. ^ "Volt Switzerland". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  36. ^ Bundeswahlleiter, Der (15 March 2019). "#Bundeswahlausschuss lässt Wahlvorschlag von „Volt Deutschland" zur #EP2019 zu". @Wahlleiter_Bund (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  37. ^ "2019 European election results - National results: Germany". Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  38. ^ "Kandidaten". Volt Nederland (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Kandidatenlijsten verkiezing Europees Parlement 2019 onderzocht". www.kiesraad.nl (in Dutch). 10 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  40. ^ "Europese partij Volt heeft Brusselse lijsttrekker: 'Europa meer slagkracht geven'". bruzz.be (in Dutch). 6 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  41. ^ "Results in figures(1) | Elections 2019". elections2019.belgium.be. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  42. ^ "Facebook post" (in Bulgarian).
  43. ^ "Европейски парламент :: Европейски парламент 2019". results.cik.bg. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  44. ^ "Elections: Le mouvement "Volt" présentera une liste complète pour les européennes". 5minutes.rtl.lu (in French). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  45. ^ "New party to present candidates for the European elections". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  46. ^ "Luxembourg". POLITICO. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  47. ^ "Val till Europaparlamentet - Partier och valsedlar". data.val.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  48. ^ "Resolución de 23 de abril de 2019, de la Presidencia de la Junta Electoral Central, de publicación de las candidaturas presentadas a las elecciones de Diputados al Parlamento Europeo convocadas por Real Decreto 206/2019, de 1 de abril, a celebrar el 26 de mayo de 2019". boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  49. ^ "Un total de 39 listas optan al Parlamento Europeo en las elecciones del 26 de mayo". europapress.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  50. ^ "Resolución de 29 de abril de 2019, de la Presidencia de la Junta Electoral Central, de proclamación de candidaturas a las elecciones de diputados al Parlamento Europeo convocadas por Real Decreto 206/2019, de 1 de abril, a celebrar el 26 de mayo de 2019". boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  51. ^ País, Ediciones El. "Resultados Electorales en Total España: Elecciones Europeas 2019 en EL PAÍS". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  52. ^ "Volt UK 💜🇬🇧🇪🇺 on Instagram: "🇪🇺🗳🇬🇧 We are glad to announce that Volt will be participating in the European elections in Britain! Given that the Electoral commission…"". Instagram. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  53. ^ Chaplain, Chloe (27 April 2019). "European elections 2019: full list of MEP candidates standing in next month's EU vote". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  54. ^ "Colombe Cahen-Salvador". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  55. ^ "Tutti i simboli e le alleanze in corsa alle elezioni europee". Wired (in Italian). 9 April 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  56. ^ "Volt sorgt in Österreich nicht für genug Spannung - derStandard.at". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  57. ^ "Europeias: são novos, são pequenos e prometem ser melhores. Mas será que estão a conseguir?". observador.pt (in Portuguese). 18 March 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  58. ^ "Italy's Battle For Europe". Italics Magazine. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  59. ^ "volteuropa.org". Retrieved 26 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |day=, |month=, and |deadurl= (help)
  60. ^ Volt Deutschland (27 May 2019). "Transparency donors" (in German). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |day=, |month=, and |deadurl= (help)
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