Sven Franck

Nationality: German

Member Association past two years: Volt France

Gender: Male

What do you see as the most urgent democratic challenge facing Volt Europa's mission across the continent, and how would you lead the organisation's response? 

Volt Europa must develop political weight on its principal topic: the future of the European Union. We demand a European government with (geo)political weight. However, our own European organisation is far from it.

Imagine: Volt Europa can be a purple brand shared by 27 national chapters, or Volt Europa is asked along with Draghi and Letta on the future of the European Union. It's time to change from being an administrative entity to becoming a political force.

We are in such a unique position to define how a European democracy should function, but it means practicing what we preach - becoming a platform for European leadership to counter national leaders, no longer just talking about "what" Europe we want, but challenging the status quo by showing "how" it can be done: by Volt becoming a blueprint of a functioning European Union, making possible the projects that make citizens feel European and giving our MEPs legal initiative through mass-filing ECIs.

We have three years to build momentum and trust in the population that a different Europe is possible only with Volt. Volt Europa as a political force will be a purple superboost for chapters and our ambitions. Let's get to work.

How would you handle a public disagreement with your Co-President on a matter of political strategy? 

Disagreements are healthy and bound to happen, but they should not be made public in the first place. 

Volt should strive to speak with one voice, because we could set an example for European Institutions if Volt became a better, functioning version of the EU. This means, that topics like a political strategy should be discussed and agreed upon internally first. We have a Board of 9 members and various stakeholders depending on the specific question to try and find consensus in a constructive matter and, should this not be possible, by holding a democratic vote.

We rightfully call out the Commission President, if she speaks for herself or only a few member states. We can and should do better with Volt and develop the decision making processes to be able to speak with one voice.

If it came to a public disagreement, I would de-escalate and argue that this topic was still in internal discussion to find a joint position that allows us to speak for all chapters.

In what way will you ensure the European Board remains accountable to local volunteers and members in practice? Please give 2–3 specific mechanisms. 

When I was Co-President of Volt France, the European Board provided reports and outlooks in 6 month intervals to the Country Council, which I thought was a good way to ensure transparency and accountability towards chapters and subsequently the wider membership, as these reports were also publicly available. I would like to take up this practice again.

Likewise during my mandate as Co-President in France, I introduced the "hebdo" a weekly Monday afternoon update sent on Whatsapp/Workplace/Tusker to members to update them of ongoing activities, important decisions and other relevant information. It was a great tool to keep members informed and engaged and to facilitate exchanges, especially for members far away from active teams. I would like the European Board to also start a similar weekly update.

Finally, I believe we can do better with regards to accessibility to members. I don't consider a co-president to live in an ivory-tower but want to accessible to members, their preoccupations and interrogations. We have to see how to organize this with a 40k member base - AMA sessions, consultations, the Country Council gathering questions, but accountability for me starts with accessibility.