Sven Franck

Great first day of the @volteuropa@bird.makeup Country Council - Volt's better version of the EU Council #EUCO 🇪🇺

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

Thanks @VoltBerlin@berlin.social
and @voltdeutschland@mstdn.social for having us 💪

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: https://svenfranck.eu/en/blog/Who-is-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf.html

Great to see so many new and familiar faces in Ghent on the @voltbelgium@bird.makeup 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 😎

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@mastodon.social 😊

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.

👉🏻 New blog post on: https://svenfranck.eu/en/blog/European-media-are-hooked-to-US-politics-like-we-are-hooked-to-US-social-media.html

Guess we need to work on our costumes but it was a great pleasure to join Volt Germany's Fabian Gaukel in his official mission to represent the city of #Karlsruhe 🇩🇪 at the #karneval 🎭 of its #twinning city #Rijeka 🇭🇷

Ljubljana 🇸🇮 is also twinning with Rijeka, but apparently didn't send any representatives - something to work on in the future with @voltslovenija@mastodon.social 😌

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

Real European leaders are not expected. It will thus be up to Mario #Draghi to foil the plan of Germany and Italy: Both seek for the EU to become more competitive by kowtowing to the demands of #trump #Musk & Co and wrestling competences away from the European Parliament and Commission... Really?

👉🏻 New blog post on: https://svenfranck.eu/en/blog/The-EU-Council-should-be-called-National-Council.html

𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻-𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺

@fosdem@fosstodon.org, the world's largest open-source conference took place last weekend in Brussels. And while I was pitching to have our @volteuropa@bird.makeup MEPs speak in the EU Policy sessions next year, the conference organizers announced they wanted #FOSDEM to become more political (@RichiH@chaos.social).

Perfect, because it's time Europe takes #opensource more serious.

👉🏻 Blog post on:
https://svenfranck.eu/en/blog/United-in-Diversity-means-making-open-source-mainstream.html

Last but not least today: the #CulturalDealEU 🇪🇺

Awesome to hear our MEP Nela Riehl and Commissioner Glenn Micallef give insights on the Parliament's and Commission's efforts for supporting Culture in the #MFF

"Culture is not an ornament but the fundament of Europe" stuck with me and since we have to defend our European culture, why not in the defence budget 💡

Perfect timing to also to talk to David Keating, whose book "The Owned Continent" is timely.

I know Suzana Carp since her #voterswithoutborders ECI and I'm superhappy she is still pushing for making #europeancitizenship a reality.

Today, the "#allonboard" ECI is launching. It seeks the means for :
- 🎓 European civic education
- 🚄 European mobility
- 📃 European skills qualifications

If we want Europe to matter for all European citizens, this ECI is an important accellerator.

👉🏻 If you want to help to put the topic on the legislative agenda, get in touch with: https://ecit-foundation.eu/clever-ecit-joint-conference/

From #fosdem to the #AI in #Defence Summit showing that open-source and hardware "Made in Europe" (from Rapid.Space in this case) could be a blessing for digital autonomy and a joint European military.

Best moment of the day by Alain Wilmouth, CEO of 2CRSI for daring to say the obvious: We need a European government.

Let's work on it! #jumpstartEU 🇪🇺

A long day at #fosdem but awesome to meet fellow Volters from our DigiCom community. Spend most of my time in the Open Source & EU Policy track - with carried a message between the lines that change will only happen, if there is sufficient public pressure - for example to apply the #DSA or to prevent breaking #cryptography. Let's work on pressure! 💪🇪🇺

Almost time to curb the January beard, but great to meet up with our
@voltslovenija@mastodon.social team in #Ljubljana to discuss party registration and upcoming campaigns.

Feeling like nudging politics in Europe, here in Slovenia and on local level in a better direction?

👉 Join us https://volt.team/simple-join/sl-en

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼-𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁?

France and Germany 🇫🇷🇩🇪, the two motors of the European project, find themselves at a crossroads: real European integration could be a remedy against the far right at home and the threats posed by Putin and Trump. But a stronger Europe would also mean for France and Germany to take a step back. Why should they?

👉🏻 Blog post on: https://svenfranck.eu/en/blog/Can-the-Franco-German-couple-still-lead-the-European-project.html

#jumpstartEU #whoDaresEurope

Happy to have made the short trip to #athens and welcomed by Volt Greece who made more than up for the frosty weather and my lack of bringing warm clothes. Thank you for hosting me and "I'll be back" 🇪🇺🖤🇬🇷

Very honored to have been invited to the 3rd Conclave by @europa_nova@bird.makeup that brought together European personalities to develop recommendations to European Council (#EUCO) President @antoniocostapm@respublicae.eu

I hope I made meaningful contributions to the Digital, Growth, Democracy and Geopolitics priorities that will help national leaders realize the power Europe would have if we moved the European project forward.

Thank you, @guillaumeklossa@bird.makeup & @negrierisabelle@bird.makeup for the opportunity.