Volt Luxembourg Volt Lëtzebuerg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | Volt |
| Leaders | Aurélie Dap Philippe Schannes[1] |
| Founded | 10. November 2018 |
| Ideology | |
| European affiliation | Volt Europa |
| Colors | Purple |
| Chamber of Deputies | 0 / 60 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 6 |
| Website | |
| voltletzebuerg.org | |
Volt Luxembourg (Luxembourgish:Volt Lëtzebuerg,French:Volt Luxembourg,German:Volt Luxemburg) is a political party inLuxembourg. It is an internal section ofVolt Europa and was founded in 2018. It received 2.11% of the vote in the2019 European elections, which meant that the party did not obtain a representative.
Volt Europa, as the umbrella organisation of all Volt parties, adopted the "5+1 Challenges" after its foundation. With this, Volt defined the fundamental challenges that the party wants to meet across Europe and which are in principle the same everywhere, although the approach may differ. The+1 Challenge, on the other hand, is identical in all countries and has the goal of reforming and strengthening the European Union.[2] In June 2018, the movement then adopted its European manifesto in the form of theMapping of Policies, which served as the basis for the creation of all Volt programmes of the national Volt parties.[3] As a result, Volt Europa contested the2019 European elections in several countries with a joint election programme, theAmsterdam Declaration. Since then, theMapping of Policies has been constantly expanded and, together with issue-specific documents, form the so-calledPolicy Portfolio, from which all national, regional and local programmes are derived.[4]
Volt positions itself pro-European and advocates the expansion of the European Union's competences in the areas of development, foreign and security policy. The party's goal is a "European republic". In order to make the EU more effective, Volt proposes the abolition of theveto and the restriction of the unanimity principle. In addition, the European Union should be able to levy taxes itself and protecthuman rights and therule of law through the use of sanctions.[5]
Volt understandsclimate policy as a cross-sector issue in which the transition toclimate neutrality in accordance with the 1.5° target can only be achieved sustainably with a triad ofclimate protection,social justice and economic prosperity. For rapid decarbonisation, Volt calls for an increase in the carbon price via theEuropean Union Emissions Trading System and strives, among other things, for acircular economy. In addition, climate-damaging subsidies are to be abolished and the expansion ofrenewable energies promoted. The party wantsnuclear energy to be recognised by the EU as green energy and, while emphasising the risks according to theIPCC reports, regards it as a necessary source of energy to achieve the fastest possible reduction of CO2 emissions. Houses should become more energy efficient by promotingheat pumps and replacingfossil fuels as heating fuels. Volt also calls for climate diplomacy to support global efforts to combatclimate change and promotesustainable mobility.[6]
Volt is committed to moredigitalisation. The party supports the targeted promotion of research, development and the use ofartificial intelligence in Europe and advocates the establishment of a European centre of excellence for artificial intelligence. Accompanying regulations for ethics and transparency are to be developed and educational opportunities promoted.[7]
Volt proposes the introduction of the right to vote in parliamentary elections forEU citizens who have lived in Luxembourg for at least 5 years.[8]
Language policies
As of 2023, Volt is against makingLuxembourgish anofficial language of the European Union.[9]
The party was officially founded on 10 November 2018, as part of the pan-European movement Volt Europa.[10] The aim of the party and movement is to reform Europe, make it more democratic and strengthen the European Parliament, to which end it established offshoots across Europe.[11]
The party's list of candidates for the European elections was officially presented on 20 March 2019.[12] Thanks in part to a signature byDP member of parliament Max Hahn, in Luxembourg candidate lists require 250 signatures of support from voters or apeople's representative, the list could be officially submitted and the party could stand for election.[13] With roots in Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, France, America, Portugal and Great Britain, the list of candidates was very international in character. In addition to the candidates Marthe Hoffmann, Daniel Silva and Julia Pitterman, the former rector of theUniversity of Luxembourg, Rolf Tarrach, stood as the top candidate, the chair of the group of British immigrants living in Luxembourg (Brill) and co-chair of British in Europe, Fiona Godfrey, and Christopher Lilyblad,Betzdorf local councillor, formerCSV member and project manager at theEU Commission, stood for the party.[14][15][16]
In the run-up to the election, RTL initially refused to broadcast anelection advertisement for the party because it was in French instead of Luxembourgish.[17] After an intervention by the independent broadcasting authority (Alia), the station broadcast the election spot after all.[18]
Prior to the election, candidates from the party joined other candidates in signing a pledge to use their parliamentary position to strengthenLGBTQ protections inEU law and policy, create an environment for LGBTI human rights defenders, be an ally for underrepresented voices and ensure EU leadership on LGBTI rights.[19] The party stressed that the EU must face and better address global issues such asaffordable housing,poverty,gender inequality,homophobia,youth unemployment, theclimate crisis andcorruption.[20] For Volt, the European Union is too focused on technocratic projects and needs to put citizens back at the centre of the project.[21]
In the European elections, the party obtained just under 26,500 votes (2.11%), thus failing to obtain a mandated representative in Luxembourg, but achieving Volt's best relative result.[22][23] However, with the German MEPDamian Boeselager, the party has a representative in theEuropean Parliament as part of the European movement, as Boeselager confirmed after the election.[24][25]
After the election, the party announced that it would contest upcoming parliamentary and European elections.[25] In July 2020, the party criticised the uncoordinated approach during theCorona crisis and national go-it-alones instead of pooling resources in Europe to deal with the pandemic. They called for more joint action in Europe to deal with crises faster and better. The party also referred to other major challenges such as therefugee crisis and theclimate crisis, which could not be successfully met with national solo efforts.[26]
In the2023 general elections, the party ran 23 candidates in the South constituency and three candidates in the East.[27] The focus of the programme in the election was on Europe, civic participation and climate protection.[28]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7,001 | 0.19 (#12) | 0 / 60 | New | Extra-parliamentary |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Rolf Tarrach | 26,483 | 2.11 (#8) | 0 / 6 | New | – |
| 2024 | Philippe Schannes | 14,348 | 1.04 (#9) | 0 / 6 |  0 |
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