Hi Fediverse!👋 We're Volt Europa, a pan-European political party building a federal, green, and progressive Europe. 🇪🇺
We believe in digital sovereignty, transparency, and putting people before platforms. Sound familiar? That's precisely why we're here.
We're not just looking for another channel to broadcast on. We chose this space because it reflects what we stand for: open, decentralised, and community-driven. We want to be part of this, not just present on it.
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Now, let's be honest. We know what it looks like when organisations show up, cross-post for two weeks, and disappear. We don't want to be that. But we're a small team with limited resources, so we need this to work both ways.
Engage with us. Challenge us. Tell us what you want to see from a European political party in this space. Help us make this worth it, for all of us.
This is the start of a conversation, not a campaign. Let's talk. 💜
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@VoltEuropa welcome to the Fediverse!
Some sore points:
1) Stop/eliminate Chat Control / EU going Dark.
2) promote Free and Open Source Software projects.
3) enforce GDPR - especially Big Tech.
4) privacy friendly/preserving digital ID.
5) Lobby Control / combat Corruption / more Transparency & Accountability on EU-level.
To add to my earlier list, I and I'm sure many others desire a transparent and non-corrupt EU, particularly at the senior levels.
The events of the past 20 years in German politics and since the 2020s EU have diminished confidence and patriotism.
Once proud and confident citizens now feel disengaged, while EU demands for cooperation and assistance, such as transparency and the reduction of corruption, are met with scepticism. .../2
A perception of hypocrisy arises because the EU does not consistently adhere to its own demands, making it the laughing stock of the global south amongst others.
I advocate for strong, serious and transparent politics and an economically powerful EU, which does not succumb to foreign pressure and demands, such as the wholesale of EU-citizen data, particularly biometrics to name a few.
@chiefbongo Thank you for the warm welcome and for sharing these critical points. Your concerns regarding digital rights and transparency are central to our vision for a reformed Europe. Volt opposes Chat Control. We advocate for the right to encryption and anonymity online. We also push for the "Public Money, Public Code" principle to prioritize Open Source software.
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On accountability: we propose a stronger EU Ethics Body and stricter lobby controls to combat corruption. We want an EU that leads by example, protecting citizens from both corporate overreach and state surveillance.
We hear your skepticism. Our goal is a federal Europe that is truly democratic and held accountable by its citizens.
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@dotmavriq @VoltEuropa You seem to be confusing Diem25 (a leftist movement headed by Varoufakis that aspires to be paneuropean) with Volt.
I respect a few figures that are friendly to Varoufakis' movement, such as @pluralistic , and in my experience they are popular within Volt as well.
But in Volt we are pretty ok with economic liberalism, so there's that. ;)
@dotmavriq Thanks for asking! The "Shine 29" strategy is our roadmap for 2024 to 2029: https://volteuropa.org/shine-2029-our-plan-for-the-next-5-years
We focus on transforming the EU into a truly democratic federal state.:
1. Smart State: Digitalising public services and investing in education.
2. Economic Renaissance: A circular, green, and innovative economy.
3. Social Equality: Ending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities.
4. Global Balance: Promoting peace, security, and climate justice globally.
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5. Citizen Empowerment: Using citizen assemblies to give you a direct voice.
+1: EU Reform: Building a federal democracy with an elected government and a European Army.
Regarding "not at all costs": Volt advocates for the **principle of subsidiarity**. Decisions should be made at the most local level possible. We also propose a **European Constitution** to protect member states from democratic backsliding and ensure clear safeguards for national identities within the federation.
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@VoltEuropa cheers from France ! Looking forward to read more about your program, in tech and all around.
If your experience on the fediverse is successful, you should plan on hosting your own instance and provide your elected officials with official accounts. We are fond of those. If needed, I might be able to help you in that regard, feel free to pm me when you're ready.
@VoltEuropa How about this: why not engage with us? There's plenty of tools to find things that might fall into your wheelhouse, that are worth jumping into the comments for.
I get wary of anyone who has a post/reply ratio that shows all post, no reply. Start by actually engaging instead of proclaiming and letting the comment section be a "talk amongst yourselves" wasteland.
We already have too many advertisement soapboxes, we need more conversation. And conversation doesn't end with the starter.
@mikka @VoltEuropa Seconding this. Don't apologize for "having limited resources". It just feels counter to the culture of this social medium.
Just give access to a bunch of valued people in the org (you know who they are) and let them drive this baby. Be the politics-nerd equivalent of @upcloud .
1. Follow @bert_hubert and tell us your ideas in digital sovereignty.
2. Given your limited resources, what frequency did you have in mind for checking in and engaging with us?
@VoltEuropa
Hi Volt, I wondered if this would be a good place. You're not big in the UK?
For grins, here's some options:
https://m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/116162440169165718
😁
LOL true Mastodon verification: YOU MUST VERIFY YOURSELF ON MASTODON BY: - Posting a picture of a cat in your lap - Random photos of flowers - Wax poetic about your favorite episode of Star Trek TNG (or your hate of the series) - Random, undecipherable technical blabbering about ham radio electronics - Mention something about your favorite Linux command line - Say hello to your many LGBTQ followers/friends here, just because you're glad they're here - Toot a picture of some mushroom you ran into while walking in the forst - Something something astronomy - Random gadget/device/bicycle post - Post a random picture of a tree or window - Photo of your sewing/mending project! - Hand drawn art post
@VoltEuropa Welcome.
And let’s get started then:
• What is your position on Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza?
• Ditto on the unlawful war of aggression being waged by the US and Israel?
• What’s your take on Frontex and the EU’s inhumane refugee policies. Will these continue as business as usual with you or will you reform them?
• What’s your position on Chat Control and Age Verification?
• Does your sovereign tech strategy rely on recreating Silicon Valley in the EU (with VC-funded startups, etc.) or do you favour a commons-based tech stack funded from and designed to serve the commons?
• If we created a United States of Europe, how do we ensure it doesn’t turn into the United States of America (but with different people at the helm?)
• In your vision, is the European Parliament still a toy parliament that can’t legislate or will it have legislative powers like every other parliament?
• Related to the above: Do you see a future for an unelected European Commission and what’s your stance on proportional representation?
Thanks + regardless of your answers good to see a group engaging here instead of avoiding it completely (*waves at Diem25*) or just broadcasting.
@aral @VoltEuropa what Aral said! :)
I mean, bem-vindas!
@aral @VoltEuropa Aral is not alone with these questions.
It's good that you're seeking a conversation with us. Let's see your answers.
@aral @VoltEuropa I am curious about all this also.
Thanks @aral
So. That went well.
We asked you to engage, challenge us, and tell us what you want. You absolutely did. Thank you. 💜
We've bookmarked every question and reply. No one is being ignored. We're working through them one by one, and we'd rather give you good answers than fast ones.
Keep them coming. More to come.
@VoltEuropa Hello, I am an Italian, European, World's citizen. In theory. But, I'm blind from birth.
As you are a political party, I would like to talk to you about politics-related matters. All over the world I think, for us blind people there's a crucial matter: VOTING is not 100 percent accessible. There's assisted vote, you go to the cabin with a trusted person. But everyone knows that TRUST is not a safety measure. It's not always that a person you trust, shares your same political ideas.
And even if I tell the assistant "please vote A, for me", I can not prove, never prove, if they could have voted B, instead.
Electronic vote is not to consider, as every system has their vulnerabilities. Braille can't be used as not every blind person knows it, especially those who lost their sight when adult, or in later age.
And? Then, let me express a doubt in another complex issue Europe has: I hardly believe in the possibility of "united states of Europe" because Europe has NEVER HAD a common language. Paradoxically, the standard spoken language is English, but we inherited it from UK first, .USA after. And those zones are politically off Europe - British just since recent years. Even Esperanto, how could it succeed? Well, we can't talk about "united states" if there are those language conflicts - as far as I know, for example, France's population speak English less than others. Italian as well. English is better spoken from 1975-80 born and forwards.
Feel free to reply, then we can discuss whatever.
@VoltEuropa what I want?
I want regular but low frequency content: what do we think is important this week/today. What is our position on it? Why? What have we done about it?
And if I think that the reasoning or the prerequisite is off, I want an honest explanation.
E.g.
- energy prices are too high, we want to lower tax.
- Why do you think it is too high? It makes energy saving valuable!
- Silence
What I don‘t want: 10 posts a day about the pope being catholic.
> We believe in digital sovereignty
Could you share what this means to you, please, and what steps you would take to get there?
RE: https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/@neil/116251863534419086
@VoltEuropa Did you have any thoughts on this?
Volt in the Press
Volt Europa
Carola Ottenburg
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Leela Torres
dotmavriq
odnes
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Mikka, MD
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Txo!?
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Ea
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moin 
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