Newsletter
Newsletter

Happy New Year!

Dear friends,

Happy New Year 2025!

Thanks to Elon Musks’s bullshit bombardment, my beautiful digital detox is already at risk  of turning into a full blown digital sepsis… But upwards and onwards. Yes, this year will be challenging politically for all of us. And that’s exactly when I am most thankful that I can work full time on improving it. If you feel stressed about where the world is heading, I invite you to join me in trying to improve it – in politics itself.
WE HAVE TO STAND STRONG
The first days of the year felt like a déjà-vu to me: Elon Musk and Donald Trump are coming up with ever-so-crazy plans how to remodel the world and pressure Europe. At the same time, here in Europe populists are louder than ever. Austria might be in for a far-right Bundeskanzler. Italy’s Meloni is heavily flirting with little rocket-man Musk. And in the German campaign, conservatives are concentrating on cheap phrases instead of real content.

I don’t know about you, but I felt reminded of 2016. When Trump became president for the first time and Europe started to fall for populism. Our reaction then was to found Volt. To move in a different direction. To show that pro-european and pragmatic solutions are possible. And to give Europe a new voice, as loud as possible. Our success shows that we can move something! We need this spirit once more now. This is how I am going to start 2025.
WHAT WE DO TO IMPROVE EU
There is some work waiting for us. Europe has to understand that it needs to reinvent itself. Get out of the comfort zone, break up encrusted structures and get over business as usual. Our answer to the Putins, Trumps and Xis in the world must be: More Europe, and a better one for that. To me it’s crystal clear that we can only achieve this together. We have to wake up and adapt to a world in which Europe has to defend its freedom, democracy and high standards of living. We need to grow up and take responsibility for our own security, give the economy a big boost and enforce our European law.

At Volt, we have a few suggestions how the EU can do it. By supporting innovative ideas to become competitive again. We cannot afford to hold on to outdated economic structures just because we’re too lazy or too scared to change. We need more pioneers and start-ups for innovation, and they should be funded accordingly. Europe also needs to become more capable in the digital world. Not only to ease bureaucracy, but also to cope with tech billionaires meddling in our democracy. And globally, the EU has to speak with one single voice. Because otherwise, we won’t be taken seriously.
EUROPE, START ACTING NOW!
I think we have already kicked off some of this in Parliament. Even beyond Volt, people here are starting to think the same way and connecting with us. This year, we’ll voice concrete ideas in Parliament: How to digitalize Europe, how to fight skills shortage or how to rebuild the EU so it can become capable of acting once again. Realistically, this is what we can do to shape the future of Europe.

We’ll have to stop talking and act more. If our ideas are heard, we can achieve a lot. Because then things in the EU will start moving. And in the many elections to come, Volt will be able to show off what we have achieved. This can make us even more  visible across Europe. Of course it’s not going to be easy. But I’m convinced that we can make this our year!

Yours,

Damian
JOIN US, BE PART OF THE CHANGE
JOIN US, BE PART OF THE CHANGE

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