Since January I was busy on several levels in organizing the general assembly together with some Pirates: Jessica Zinn from Berlin (Germany), Jelena Jovanovic from Belgrade (Serbia) and former Chairman of PPI, Andrew Reitemeyer from Pongaroa (New Zealand). We were appointed from the board as the general assembly committee. I did the supervision of the preparations, setting up the event website and gathering information about […]
If you have dreamed about an European summer tour this year might be the best possible moment for a pirate to discover Berlin and its attractions. Starting from summer, the annual meeting of Pirate Parties International will take place in Berlin, on 23rd and 24th July. Right after the conference, Berliners will have another exciting event stay tuned for: Pirates are running for the local elections. On […]
In many countries around the world, it is just as easy to access a free Wi-Fi network in a public space as it is to order a cup of coffee. But in Germany, free wireless networks are in short supply. According to a study released earlier this month by eco, the Association of the German Internet Industry e. V., Germany has – from one million […]
A Guest Post by Amelia Andersdotter EuroDIG is as always a vibrant place with many different nationalities coming together to discuss important topics for the future of internet governance. Unfortunately, many of the discussions coming up are displaced: the accountability and responsibility for deciding on important stakes for the internet community is just not present. EuroDIG 2014 was organised in Germany. This means a slight […]
Following the collapse of the government of the tiny European country of Luxembourg, due to a spying scandal, early elections were called and took place on 20 October 2013. The Pirate Party of Luxembourg was hoping to get 2% of the vote, in their first ever election and were overjoyed to see their share of the vote reaching the 2.94% over all and 3.37% in the north of the country.
On July, 10th the Luxembourg government fell apart because of a spying scandal. This meant there had to be elections held that were previously unplanned. These elections will take place next Sunday, October 20th. So parties were only given 3 months to prepare for those election. One of the parties competing for votes will be the Pirate Party of Luxemburg (PPLU). It will be the […]
The so called “Six Pack” of Reforms for Europe includes a lot of points, accepted by the general assembly of the German Pirate Party. more citizen participation and rights for the European Parliament, a Marshall plan to deal with Europe’s economic crisis, energy generation that should be decentralized, access to a net-neutral internet should be guaranteed and Creative Content licenses promoted. The concept of a “Fortress Europe” and the agency FRONTEX should be abandoned.
Despite some facts that burdened the atmosphere of the general assembly, data and numbers show that PPI continues to inspire and attract Pirates worldwide. PPI accepted 14 new members, increasing the number of Pirate Parties in PPI to 42 countries . They also accepted a further six observer members, elected a new board and voted on some statute changes.
After Interviewing Maša Utković, PPHR’s (Pirate Party of Croatia) leader and head of “List 22” – the euroballot of the party, you can easily realize that the winner in Croatia’s recent, first ever euroelections was euroscepticism. The clear indifference and lack of participation shown by voters, only 20,84% turnout, confirmed citizens low interest for the European Union.
The week before the general assembly, on the 23 – 24 March 2013, a deep impact shaped the contrasts of the life of the Belgian Pirates. It was revealed, during the week that the co-founder of the Belgian Pirate Party, co-founder of Pirate Parties International as well as a very popular friend of Pirates worldwide, Jurgen Rateau, lost his life far too early at the age of 42. Too young to die.