Next stop on my transnational listening tour: Regensburg

Meeting with the local team

Filling the Dashboard

and I got my own notebook

Next stop on my listening tour: Regensburg 🇩🇪 where I studied and joined Volt Regensburg to talk European politics.

👉🏻 We need European political leadership. The EU, because there has to be a counterweight to nationalist policies.

Thank you for having me and see you back soon 💜🇪🇺

Next stop on my transnational listening tour: Munich

Great opportunity to discuss "Europe and leather pants" with the Munich team

My dashboard is filling up

Meeting with the Bayreuther members

I'm on the road again touring through Bavaria and Germany 🇩🇪
In Munich I spoke about "Europe and leatherpants" and if national parties can do European politics - they can't 🧐
We agreed we need European political leadership - in Europe, but also within Volt.
Thanks @voltmuenchen.org for the invite 🖤

We held our founding General Assembly to register @voltslovenija.org as a political party 🥳 I'm super-proud to have been part of this adventure and seeing so many members taking responsibilities.

👉🏻 News: siol.net/novice/slove...

👉🏻 TV: www.rtvslo.si/rtv365/arhiv...

Fotos: Bobo/Žiga Živulović jr

Welcome to Tirana

Dashboard looking better and better

trying local street food

Sightseeing on Skandebeg

Last stop on my transnational "listening tour": Tirana 🇦🇱

💡 With Volt Albania, I spent the day discussing Albania's accession to the EU, because while the city is full of EU flags 🇪🇺, after applying in 2009, the goal is to join the EU by 2030.

👉🏻 We really should have gradual accession as we propose

Campaign stop: Greece

Breakfast for champions

Dashboard overview

With team Athens

Next stop: Greece 🇬🇷 with a morning in Thessaloniki and Athens and welcomed by @voltgreece.org 💜

💡 I learned a lot about Thessaloniki rebuilding its past of having been a flourishing multi-ethnicity metropole.

👉🏻 the government is knee-deep in a corruption scandal for misuse of EU agriculture funds

🚨 Happening tomorrow 🚨

Volt Ireland’s first General Assembly!

Meet members & supporters, and help shape what comes next

🗳 Members can vote
💬 Supporters are very welcome!

📅 11 April, 10am
📍 Maldron Hotel, Clondalkin, Dublin

Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Been there, still a sweet spot

Calories for 48h

Dashboard up to date

Learning Bulgarian in front of Parliament

After another sleepless overnight bus to #bułgaria 🇧🇬, Simeon from Volt Bulgaria welcomed me and we started the day with принцеса (Princesa) and calories for the next 48h 😌

👉🏻 Volt Bulgaria is polling at 3% close to the threshold to enter Parliament and have Volt deputies again. Fingers crossed 💜💪🇪🇺

Campaign stop in Romania

Meeting the Volt Bucharest team

My dashboard slowly filling up

Team photo after an evening about defense

Next stop on my campaign trail: Bucharest 🇷🇴 and with little time on my schedule, @Volt Romania made the most of it joining for a book presentation of Sandu Cuturela on Geopolitics.

A big mulțumesc to Ana Măiță, Mihaela Sirițanu and the whole team for having me 💜

A divided city in Europe... Nicosia

Starting to fill the map of my 2nd campaign leg.

Meeting with Volt Cyprus on one side of the border.

and on the other side.

On the road again in #Cyprus 🇨🇾 for my Volt Europa 🇪🇺 copresidency campaign.

@voltcyprus.org is running in the upcoming elections. Their voice is needed in the Cypriot Parliament - as is the voice of Cyprus in the European Union. Let's make it happen!

Αλλάζουμε ρεύμα! Πάρε θέση!

Thank you 🖤

Last stop on this leg: Vienna

Great panel with Tamara Ehs and Robert Menasse

Dashboard slowly filling

Thank you for the organisation Volt Österreich

Next stop: @voltoesterreich.org 🇦🇹 hosting me in Vienna!

A great panel with @tamaraehs.bsky.social & Robert Menasse
👉🏻 National parties dodging their European responsibility is a recipe for disaster

We talked until 2am and why Austria doesn't contribute to define Neutrality for the European Union 🇪🇺

Transnational campaign: Stop in Poland

Volt Polska General Assembly. Find me in the crowd.

Another country, two more events, I spoke at.

At the protest to free Belarus.

A day in Warsaw with @voltpolska.org 🇵🇱 . Very European with 🇬🇷🇷🇴🇳🇴🇩🇰🇸🇪🇫🇮 (and me for 🇸🇮) attending the Polish GA and the #weareeurope event, but I learned that the government avoids talking about Europe giving a platform to the #polexit debate that will only gain more traction. Volt is needed in Poland 🇪🇺

Diskussions-Panel: “Mitte” steht nicht für "mittelmäßig": Die Rolle demokratischer Parteien in einer sich verändernden Welt Wir laden herzlich ein zu unserem Panel zum Thema “Mitte” steht nicht für "mittelmäßig": Die Rolle demokratischer Parteien in einer sich verändernden Welt. In einer Welt voller Verwerfungen sollte man...

Heute Abend: Paneldiskussion in #Wien mit @tamaraehs.bsky.social @svenfranck.bsky.social und Robert #Menasse zum Thema „Mitte=mittelmäßig? Die Rolle demokratischer Parteien in einer sich verändernden Welt.“ Eintritt frei! voltoesterreich.org/veranstaltun...

The EU flag brings out the sun (hey, Hungary)

Meeting with the Prague and Czechia team

Dashboard starting to fill

Also very happy to catch up with contacts I met during the Volt Europa General Assembly in Prague.

Another long day with lots of ☀️ in Prague with @voltcesko.org 🇨🇿

Adding 🇪🇺 challenges for my campaign to become Volt Europa Co-President:
✅ speak the local language
✅ try a local dish
Plus my website and newsletter coming up. Stay tuned!

A big 🫶 to @adhanka.bsky.social and Kateřina.

A parliament without EU flag. The weather shows.

AI slop comics discrediting the opposition. Only in Hungary.

Political city tour with the Voters on the ground.

My dashboard, coming to my campaign website soon.

Half a day in Budapest to warm-up for my transnational campaign to become Volt Europa co-president.

Details in my campaign newsletter (coming soon), but let's root for Hungary to begin a new chapter - more democratic, more prosperous, more European 🇪🇺 and with Volt Hungary writing a few lines 💜

Earlybird in Brussels

Keynote by Commissioner Marta Kos

Damian after nailing is speech

My modest contribution to the Policy brief on Growth

Very happy to have been invited to the Future500 initiative which gathers the EU startup ecosystem to push for keeping innovations, founders and potential in Europe and scaling EU companies.

@dboeselager.volteuropa.org had one of the best speeches, I know why I'm in @volteuropa.org.

Bar chart showing Volt at 9.9% and AfD at 8.6% in Darmstadt. Text reads: "My vote doesn't matter in a local election." Subtext: "Thanks to just 1.3% of your votes, Volt BEAT the AfD in Darmstadt."

Bar chart showing Die Linke at 10.2% and Volt at 9.9% in Darmstadt. Text reads: "My vote is just a drop in the ocean." Subtext: "And if just 0.3% more had voted for Volt, we would've beaten The Left in Darmstadt."

Volt BEAT the AfD, and every vote mattered!

In Darmstadt, just 1.3% of votes separated Volt from the AfD, and we came out on top! Every single vote counted to make this happen.

Excellent! 💜

Prejšnji vikend sta se dva predstavnika Volt Slovenija udeležila vrha članic Volt Evropa, ki se ga 2x letno udeležijo delegacije vseh Voltov po Evropi. 🇪🇺💜

Na letošnjem spomladanskem vrhu so pogovori tekli o notranji organizaciji dela Volt Evropa, prihajajočih volitvah v mnogih evropskih državah.

🌸 Srečen dan žena! Danes praznujemo moč, pogum in dosežke žensk po vsej Evropi in svetu. Ob tej priložnosti vam naše sopredsednice iz Volt strank po vsej Evropi pošiljajo iskrene želje za vesel dan žena. Ženske imajo ključno vlogo pri oblikovanju naše družbe. Tudi v politiki. A pot do enakopravne zastopanosti še ni končana. V Voltu verjamemo, da močnejša prisotnost žensk v politiki pomeni bolj vključujoče, pravične in napredne družbe. Zato si prizadevamo za politiko, kjer imajo ženske enake priložnosti za vodenje, odločanje in ustvarjanje sprememb, od lokalnih skupnosti do evropske ravni. Danes praznujemo dosežke žensk, hkrati pa se zavezujemo, da bomo še naprej gradili Evropo, kjer ima vsaka ženska glas, prostor in moč odločanja. 💜

🌸 Srečen dan žena!

Danes praznujemo moč, pogum in dosežke žensk po vsej Evropi in svetu.

Ženske imajo ključno vlogo pri oblikovanju naše družbe. V Voltu verjamemo, da močnejša prisotnost žensk v politiki pomeni bolj vključujoče, pravične in napredne družbe.💜

the french connection

rapid political positioning across borders howto

the writing is on the wall

Taking a backseat. For the moment

Great first day of the @volteuropa.org Country Council - Volt's better version of the EU Council 🇪🇺

Why better? No unanimity but democratic votes, political alignment and empowering our European leadership.

Thanks @voltberlin.org and @voltdeutschland.org for having us 💪

Who is afraid of the big bad wolf? This week, Germany chancellor Friedrich Merz sided with Donald Trump to call out Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as the only European leader to take a stand. He since backtracked, but I the don't...

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳?

This week, Germany chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the US siding with Donald Trump to call out Spain's Pedro Sanchez as the only European leader to take a stand. What's next? Will Germany become the 51st state?

👉🏻 Blog post on: svenfranck.eu/en/blog/Who-...

Still working on the collar as usual...

Q&A with our MEP Anna Strolenberg

It's not a protest, it's a team photo

Great to see so many new and familiar faces in Ghent on the @voltbelgium.org Political Congress and how our Belgian chapter and the team of Ghent develops 💪🇪🇺

Well worth the bus ride across Europe with a pillow, toothbrush, laptop and eyerings 😎

Team Ljubljana

Our tech, scientific and cultural perspectives made for a really interesting discussion about Europe, where we are today and where we need to go next.
👉 Can't miss the Ljubljana Meet&Greet of @voltslovenija.org 😊

European media are hooked to US politics like we are hooked to US social media Yesterday, the US president held its State of the Union address at 3am our time. Perfect, because I prefer to sleep than listening to another episode from the Twilight Zone. What's not so perfect is t...

𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗨𝗦 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀

The US president held its State of the Union address at 3am. Perfect, because I prefer to sleep. What's not so perfect is the space Donald Trumps has in European Media this morning. We have our own drama.

👉🏻 Blog post on: svenfranck.eu/en/blog/Euro...

✊ We support Ukraine! Thank you LUkraine.org for hosting this important march!

🇺🇦 Слава Україні! | Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦

💜 💙 💛 💜

#ukraine #SlavaUkraini

Volt Kommunalwahl Briefwahl schon beantragt?

📬 Briefwahl in München läuft!

Jetzt Unterlagen beantragen unter briefwahl-muenchen.de oder im KVR abholen.

🗳️ Gewählt werden OB, Stadtrat & Bezirksausschüsse.
Volt tritt für OB & Stadtrat an – im BA 21 gemeinsam mit der ÖDP.

Jetzt beantragen. Informiert wählen. 💜

#VoltMünchen #Kommunalwahl2026

Fabian and his +2, I look the wrong way of course.

Friendly facehugger at the Karneval in Rijeka

Spotted a dragon. Not green as in Ljubljana, but close.

Fabian still recognizeable

Our costumes need work but it was a pleasure to join Fabian Gaukel of @voltdeutschland.org in his official mission to represent Karlsruhe 🇩🇪 at the #karneval 🎭 of its #twinning city Rijeka 🇭🇷

Ljubljana 🇸🇮 is also twinning with Rijeka - we'll work with @voltslovenija.org to attend in the future 😌

The European Council should be called National Council Tomorrow, national leaders retreat to a castle in Belgium to discuss European competitiveness. It will be up to Mario Draghi to foil the plan of Germany and Italy: Both seek for the EU to become more ...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹
Tomorrow, national leaders retreat to a castle in Belgium to discuss #competitiveness.

With no European leaders expected, it will be up to Mario #Draghi to foil the plan of Germany and Italy.

👉🏻 New blog post on: svenfranck.eu/en/blog/The-...

Screenshot of the summary of the arguments by the Commission. Full text in the link

EU tech law

Commission sues Spain for not implementing national law side of the Digital Services Act eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...