Monthly October 2026: Your update from the Co-Presidents!
Welcome to the latest Volt Europa update! A regular summary of what is happening at the first true European party. We hope your October has brought bright autumn days and cosy moments, as we continue building a pan-European future together! This edition covers upcoming GA, Estonian elections and the role of Volt, the first local representatives in Slovakia, Slovenian elections on the 15th of November, “We are the 1 Million” with over 5.000 signatures, and more.
✅ What happened last month:
[Politics] To discuss ways of cooperation for next spring's parliamentary elections, Sven visited Tallinn with Achille and met with the Volt Eesti team, Toomas Hendrik Ilves and other Estonian parties.
[Politics] On the 21-23 of October, Inês, Sven, and Chan Uk attended the Europa Power Conference in Strasbourg. During the panel, Sven highlighted that it’s time for European political parties and real European politics, which got a lot of attention and allowed to make contacts who want to support us in one way or another. Watch part of his speech on his Instagram.
[Politics] Slovakia elected its first Volt local representatives! Volt now has 4 seats with Jana Dudášova in Ružiná, Ján Lacko in Malinovo, Mikuláš Lakatoš in Pribeta and Eva Svoradová in Halič. These election victories mean Volt now has 395 elected officials in 11 countries across Europe!
[Activism] We have over 5.000 signatures for “We are the 1 Million”! But we need more. Tell your family, friends and neighbours that they can be an active part of the democratic mechanism by signing “We are the 1 Million” and driving the change.
🔮 Coming up:
[Chapters] Inês and Sven will meet with our MEPs in Brussels on November 12th before continuing to the Dutch GA in Utrecht, after which Sven will also join the Volt Germany GA in Leipzig. Our Co-Presidents are very much looking forward to meeting everyone!
📅 Events for your calendar:
After Czechia and Slovakia, Slovenia will have local elections on November 15th. Volt is running in 4 municipalities (Celje, Ptuj, Velenje and Ajdovščina) as we try to add another member state with locally elected officials. So if you are in Slovenia, go vote!
Our next GA will take place online on the 13th of December! Register and join! Ahead of this, we would like to remind you to contribute to the "United States of Europe" and help us find the best version of the Europe we want to see.
📚 Good reads to break a long workday:
Josef Lentsch - “Europe's Centre Is Losing the Story.” Saxony-Anhalt's election has confirmed it, Germany is following Austria's path and the far right is moving into the mainstream. Centrist parties in France, Germany and Spain still lack a story voters will repeat, and the clock is running out.
Slavoj Žižek - “If You Want Peace, Prepare Europe.” What can Europe still represent in the disorder of the present? And what if its political fragility contains a resource that has yet to be named? Watch this engaging speech by philosopher Slavoj Žižek for the launch of Europa2057 at the Sala della Protomoteca in Campidoglio.
Mariana Mazzucato for The Times - “Taxing Wealth Makes Sense, But It Won’t Fix Our Economy.” Economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that while wealth taxes like California's proposed Proposition 40 are justified to fund public services, they act only as late-stage remedies after massive private fortunes have already been accumulated. Read about her proposed solution!
📰 Volt In the press:
Media highlights from last week. Translations in your language and more press coverage available on Haiilo’s Volt in the Press section - collected by Jacob Lippold since 2022.
(Europe) Middle East Monitor - Nela Riehl, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) and a member of its Committee on Foreign Affairs, said all international organisations involved in human rights and humanitarian work have repeatedly called for increased funding and aid for Sudan, provided by member states of many of these organisations (07.10.2026).
(Europe) Brusselse Nieuwe - Return hubs in Rwanda and Uganda are unworkable, say MEPs following a visit. European leaders regularly talk about hubs in countries outside Europe where refugees can be accommodated. Anna Strolenberg (Volt) and Tineke Strik (Pro) wanted to see for themselves what such a place looks like (13.10.2026).
(Portugal) postal - The Algarve cannot be a place where people work but cannot live by Bruno Castelão Santos. “It is time to put people at the heart of housing policy. Because the Algarve cannot be merely a destination to visit. It must continue to be a place where it is possible to live” (22.10.2026).
(Netherlands) nrc - A parliamentary majority, on the initiative of Volt and the CDA, wants a total ban on AI in primary education. A parliamentary majority wants the government to include a ban on generative artificial intelligence (AI) for primary school children in the Digitalisation Strategy (29.10.2026).
(Europe) The Guardian - Analysis: Pragmatic or pointless? Europe’s rift over whether to pick up the phone to Putin. With no single European representative negotiating directly with Moscow, some leaders are establishing their own channels – with messy results. […] Reinier van Lanschot has called on EU leaders to convene a summit and agree on a single representative to engage with Putin (29.10.2026).
Let’s drive progress and shape the future of Europe together!
Your Executive Team 💜