Damian Boeselager | Co-Founder Volt Europa
Interview given to Ms Maria Louisa Vafiadaki
-Kindly introduce Volt Europa and its values. What are its main foundational values ?
The idea behind Volt Europa came up in 2016 when I was in the US and the Brexit referendum took place. At the same time, President Trump got elected for the first time to lead the US.
Together with my friends, we questioned why the rising of populist parties and thought of building the exact opposite: a European facts-based pragmatic party. Then, we started promoting it and more people joined.
The whole idea has been make people excited about party politics again. Secondly, our message is to have a loud voice for stronger European collaboration and cooperation against nationalists. A third point is to become elected and bring actual change.
-What makes Volt Europa different to a traditional political party ?
First of all, Volt Europa is a European party; not a national party. There no other European parties today. Volt members exist all across Europe (31 countries) promoting a European movement.
We are also a quite young party with our members’ average age being 35, compared to 65-year old conservative Germans.
In addition, we are pro innovation, but not from an extreme point of view. Most of new successful parties today are either extreme left or extreme right. At Volt, we want to show that innovation and new politics can also come from the center. It doesn’t always have to come from an extreme party. We can build innovation and better politics from the center.
Equally important is our facts-based character. We can have different perspectives, but we need to first agree on the facts.
-Volt Europa presents itself as a pan European party rather than a coalition of national branches. What structural limitations of traditional European party federations were you trying to overcome ?
The problem with national parties is that they are running for national politics promising national outcomes. Under European level, they form coalition in European parliament but the power does not lie in the European headquarter of the European conservatives for example; it lies with the national leadership of conservatives who work based on national interests
However, this is very strange; on local level, we vote for local parties for their local strategies. On regional level, we vote for regional parties for their regional strategies and on national level, we choose national parties with national strategies. On European level on the other hand, we vote for national parties that tell us what they want to do nationally !
Therefore, people don’t really understand European politics, as they vote for national parties in the end. This is problematic and needs to be resolved, so that people can vote for a European party that promises strategies and reforms on a European level.
If only national parties exist, European Democracy cannot take place and this is exactly why we need European parties.
-Is the “United States of Europe” framing still strategically useful in 2026, or has geopolitical reality forced you to rethink the landscape ?
In Volt, we aim for European Parliamentary Democracy. Presidential democracies like the US and France are problematic in our view and are mainly driven by their leaders’ personal egos.
I do think there is an emotional reaction to the “United States of Europe”, but I am not “married” to this slogan. If a better slogan is found to express us, I am happy to use it..
-The EU’s biggest crisis isn’t economic – it’s trust. Why should citizens believe that transferring more power to Brussels increases accountability rather than distance ?
We envision transferring more power to European citizens. Currently, the power of European politics lies in the hands of 27 people who meet in a secret room behind closed doors without any transparency and inefficient decision making processes.
We want to go back to the principles of Democracy that allow people to vote for government and determine the future. Europeans should vote for European parties that promise European strategies and reforms.
Back in 2012, when I was in Greece, we did interviews and a Greek citizen asked me “why is Angela Merkel cutting down my salary”... It is then that I understood that there was someone with power and decision making, not elected in Greece, but deciding for Greece. Consequently, someone feels powerless in the democratic system.
Hence, you need to give people the power to vote for a different direction. I’d rather bring more power to the European people than to the 27 national leaders who defend their national interests rather than the interests of Europeans…
-In light of the war in Ukraine and rising US-China tensions, do you believe the EU should become a fully autonomous military actor, including a joint army ?
Years ago, the Munich Security Conference created a report where they compared how many weapon systems we have in Europe and in the US. In Europe, we have 17 different tank systems of the Leopard class, whereas the US only has 1… So, one could say that we could spend less on defense if we unite our procurement. I generally think we are spending lots of money on defense and not buying together on a European level to save money.
On another note, both Ukraine and Iran’s cases are both valid studies proving to all that we are more or less irrelevant on a global stage. While I do not support an army ready to attack anywhere, I am pro a joint European defense army. It more efficient and then of course we can never attack each other again.
Thirdly, we need the joint army to avoid dependence on the US. Overall, we need to be realists. But I do think that today we should create safety for European citizens; it is our responsibility to keep us safe. If we were to be attacked today, we cannot guarantee our physical safety. That is not a good situation to be in. We need to change decisions today.
-If you had to choose between accelerating renewable expansion or investing in next-generation nuclear- where would Volt Europa stand and why ?
We are generally innovation friendly, so we do believe that research is helpful. However, if you look at today’s economics and the urgency to fight climate change, nuclear plans under the current conditions seems less intelligent, considering cost per kw per hour…
Also, if you think about waste as a current environmental issue, it makes more sense to invest in renewables at this moment.. I don’t have anything against nuclear but it is practical, not ideological.
-In your view, what governance mechanisms are needed to ensure transparency and accountability in AI systems without establishing excessive regulatory burdens ?
This is a tricky question. Generally, it’s always better to regulate something on European level rather than on national level. The original AI had the idea of classifying AI algorithms according to the purpose that they serve.
The AI regulation doesn’t sit so well anymore. Overall though, I feel that some good things were indeed achieved.
-What is your view of Chancellor Friedrich Merz ? Is he doing a good job ?
I wish for the current government to be successful, otherwise the far right become even more powerful. Sadly, the government and Merz are doing a terrible job in containing the far right. They don’t take actions to make changes, but compromise instead...
If people want radical change and don’t get it from the existing government, then they are ready for more radical parties. This is the biggest failure.
On European level, it has become clearer than ever that Europe needs to work together, either regarding having a joint European army & defense system, or regarding rebuilding one market for all to scale up companies more easily and exit the crisis. Based on a survey, 80% of European citizens would be happy to have it. Yet, he is not using this opportunity at all…
Merz functions like a politician on a national level only, who sadly doesn’t realize the historic importance of improving the European Union as a whole. Of course, he is proud to be the German Chancellor, but he never understood that he was assigned a European Union that was built after a war to preserve and advance. And this is his biggest failure - not using opportunities to improve things…
-Finally, why should a German voter choose Volt Europa over the Greens or FDP ?
The real question here is “why vote for the Greens or the FDP”... I don’t like defining ourselves via others. But we are the only existing European party. Combining sustainability and innovation, we focus on new businesses, new ideas. We stand up for European integration and reforms.
Being closer to citizens, we give them the power to vote for the future. Our current economy will not save us, unless we are competitive. Finally, we promote social justice and truly believe that we are free to love whoever we want.
Don’t wait for others to change the future; be part of it ! We are not spectators, we can also be the change makers. Today.
Join us at Volt Europa !
Thank you.