Volt’s Call for European Independence: Time to Build the United States of Europe

Europe is a beautiful place. A place worth defending, but a place that can still become so much better. We have 500 million citizens living in diverse societies, independent courts and fair elections, a large and advanced social-market economy, and among the highest standards of living on the globe. The EU was founded as a peace project, an answer to "never again", and an alternative to the empires of the past. It still is a success today. Is there a country that wants to join China, the USA or Russia voluntarily? No. But the EU does have that magnetic power, and many countries line up to join the EU.

Still, Europe is not reaching its full potential and is under threat. Russia continues its war, destroying Ukraine. The US pursues imperialistic ambitions. Europe will become a vassal if we don't change. It is not enough for Europe to become resilient to survive. We must become independent to thrive.

The old order is dead. Europe cannot continue to play by outdated rules. We can build a new order with allies, one where rules and values count.

9 out of 10 Europeans say they want Europe to be more united, the highest number of all time.

But national European leaders believe that a little bit more cooperation is sufficient to survive. They are wrong. Europe must change – not a little, but a lot.

What we need is real independence. Democratic, military, economic, social, and material independence. Through different speeds or all at once. Volt has a plan.

We can build a better Europe together. One that acts faster, with more power, and is accountable to you, the people. A Europe that speaks with one voice and stands up for democracy and international law. A United States of Europe!

Not because the European Union should look more like the United States, or because we should change its perfectly fine name. But because we all deserve a more united Europe and dare to dream big.

Here are the major changes we want.

Democratic independence

Power to the European people. We want all of us to have the power to elect a European government through real European elections, with European candidates and European parties!
End the vetocracy. We need to ditch the veto, the ability for a country to stop decisions. Dictators like Orbán cannot have a vote. Europe should make all decisions by majority.
Speak with one voice. We need a real European foreign minister to stand strong against dictators, defend international law without hypocrisy, stop wars, and prevent new ones.

Military independence

Fund freedom. We can save billions in spending through Eurobonds, joint procurement, breakthrough tech investment, a European DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and a fully integrated defence industry.
Victory for Ukraine. We make sure Ukraine wins by using the frozen Russian assets, setting up a no-fly zone, accelerating membership, and defending any ceasefire with European forces.
A European army to keep the peace. We build a European command structure, EU-owned strategic enablers such as ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), and a force of at least 250,000 soldiers ready to defend Europe.

Economic independence

Finance our future. We issue Eurobonds to invest in our climate neutral digital economy, complete the capital market and banking union, and make the Euro a global currency.
Thriving innovation. We set a European preference, remove all barriers in the single market, attract talent, establish ''EU Inc.'' and focus industrial policy on new European champions.
Embrace our friends. We accept many new EU members, forge equitable trade and development deals, and increase collaboration with democratic friends like the UK and Canada.

Digital independence

Protect the truth. We force social media to respect our values and fight foreign interference, build an EU public broadcaster, keep journalists safe, and enable social media alternatives.
A European ''tech stack''. We create a home-grown digital infrastructure as alternatives to the US, from A to Z: European AI, data, software, devices, cloud services, network and chips.
All government services use European tech. We make all government services on all levels use European software and have all data stored on European cloud services by 2030.

Social independence

A life you can afford. We build affordable homes through smart social housing and renovation projects. We invest in clean tech and a European grid to lower energy prices.
Culture at home. We sponsor film, music, etc. to stop seeing Europe through American glasses. Culture must not be a privilege but a force of solidarity, by investing in local artists.
Unlock human potential. We turn Erasmus into a universal European experience, invest in new skills and jobs, and give young people start-up capital for their lives and businesses.

Material independence

Our own energy. We invest in clean energy like wind, solar and nuclear and batteries to rid ourselves of foreign energy dependency, like LNG from the US, gas and oil from Russia.
Reclaim industrial leadership. We restore Europe as a manufacturing powerhouse by investing in new economic sectors like deep- and cleantech, and continental high-speed rail.
Resource our future. We invest in responsible mining, make equitable resource deals with partners, and accelerate recycling and circularity to ensure access to critical raw materials.

And how are we going to make that happen?

In every possible way we can! With your support we will:

Fight hard every day in the European Parliament and all over Europe, national, regional and local, for a United States of Europe through lawmaking and pushing powerful people to act
Tell the story of what a United States of Europe would look like and how it would improve your daily life through social media and journalism (you can find the link on this page)
Send in the lawyers! That’s right, we are going to sue the Council, Member States and other actors who are holding back on what has to be done to make a united Europe happen
Celebrate Europe and demand our national leaders to create the United States of Europe, on every 9th of May, Europe day
Gather support for our petition until we can show national leaders what we already know, and opinion polls consistently show: the overwhelming majority of Europeans wants a United Europe!
Inform you about all the ways you can bring about this change at every level and tell the story, including resources you can use for your own demonstrations or activities (like downloadable posters, tips & tricks, and a free copy of Reinier van Lanschot’s (audio)book!)
Many many other events and projects. Do you have your own idea how to bring about the United States of Europe? Let us know by contacting us!