Politics Without Borders? How Volt Wants to Rethink European Politics

The idea for Volt Europa emerged in 2016 in the wake of the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. For Damian Boeselager and his co-founders, these developments signaled that nationalism and populist movements were gaining influence across many democracies. Their response was to create a pragmatic, evidence-based, and consistently European political party that approaches politics not from a national perspective, but across borders.

Since the 2024 European Parliament elections, Volt has established itself as one of the most visible new pro-European political parties. In Germany, the party received 2.6 percent of the vote and secured several seats in the European Parliament. Through Europe-wide campaigns, digital organizational structures, and a strong presence on social media, Volt was particularly successful in engaging younger voters. At the same time, it became clear how difficult it remains for new and smaller parties to establish themselves in the long term within the political system and to keep European issues firmly anchored in national political debates.

Today, Europe faces new challenges. Geopolitical crises, economic dependencies, and shifting international alliances are increasingly shaping political realities. Against this backdrop, Volt advocates for a more integrated and capable Europe while also raising the question of how European politics can be organized in the future.

Against this background, we are very pleased to welcome Damian Boeselager on Monday, 29 June 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe. As a co-founder of Volt, he campaigns for stronger European integration, democratic reforms within the European Union, and reform of the European electoral system.

Together with you and Damian Boeselager, we would like to discuss these and other questions: What are the opportunities and limitations of a pan-European political party? How can small parties influence political debates, even without large parliamentary majorities? Do we need new approaches to European politics? What role can Europe play in a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical crises, economic dependencies, and shifting international alliances? And how can the European Union become more democratic and more capable of taking action?

We would be delighted to welcome you to the event and kindly ask you to register by 28 June 2026.