Volt has developed a stringent policy programme to strengthen democratic rules for European political parties. These include lobbying regulations, increasing citizens’ participation in the policymaking processes and instruments to combat corruption. In our efforts to fight the dangerous democratic backsliding inMember States, we will fight to strengthen the protection of journalists and oppose disinformation and illegal data sharing.
Volt wants to move towards a single constituency in which voters elect representatives from transnational lists and the number of MEPs elected is as close as possible to the proportion of votes received. Furthermore, we will ensure voting rights for all mobile EU citizens in their country of origin and their host country after 2 years of residency.
Volt aims to bring about real citizen participation by empowering Europeans to initiate policies, reducing the number of signatures for a citizens’ initiative and improving online signature collection. Ensuring citizen involvement in policy-making will also mean creating a more trustworthy and transparent political landscape by introducing stricter lobbying regulations and improving public access to information.
Volt will address threats to democracies in member states and accelerate infringement procedures to protect democratic values, human rights or the rule of law. We will ensure that the EU has robust mechanisms to protect its founding values, fight corruption and ensure the safety of journalists.
Volt wants to strengthen pan-EU collaboration in key areas to improve access to information across borders. We support the creation of a strong network of European public broadcasters and remove geo-blocking so that content is not limited to one country. We will also cultivate a financially sustainable ecosystem of open-source software that reduces our dependence on volunteer efforts for critical IT infrastructure.
Volt has defined 5+1 fundamental Challenges that need to be tackled in each European country and in Europe as a whole.
Why 5 + 1 Challenges?
The 5 Challenges are basically the same for every country, but their implementation can be adapted on the national level to take into account local realities.
The +1 Challenge – our proposal to reform and strengthen the EU – is identical across all our national programmes.
Education and digitalisation are key elements of the 21st century
An innovative economy must be the engine of society's progress
No-one should be left behind - no matter their gender, income, religion. or origin
Europe needs to assume responsibility for its role in global challenges
People must be empowered to influence politics beyond elections alone
We love the EU - this doesn't mean there is no room for improvement
