21st Council Meeting | 4.1 Mandate for collaborations on the European Level, and updating the CPS - Subject & Discussion Thread

Council 21st Council Meeting
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Submitted by: The Board of the European Pirate Party
Addressed to: The 21st Council of the European Pirate Party

Background

The relationship between the European Pirate Party and external actors on the European level is governed primarily by two documents: The Common Pirate Strategy, and the Relationship Agreement with the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. The latter served us well after the elections, as it allowed us to retain our special status in the Greens/EFA Group after the less than stellar election results we had in the last European Parliament. The relationship agreement also allow us to increase our delegation by inviting other MEPs to join us, and to draw the benefit from our deal with the Group.

As the resources allocated to the Groups in the European Parliament are re-allocated at the midterm, this makes the current year especially interesting in this regard. With our deal with the Group we could invite other MEPs to join us, and as a result benefit from our deal. To maximize our chances of this happening, and to ensure that we don’t end up restricting ourselves in this regard, a redraft of the Common Pirate Strategy is needed. The current version was adopted when we assumed that Pirate MEPs would be the majority of any Pirate delegation. As we presently only have one MEP, any expansion of the delegation would make us no longer the majority, and the Strategy should be adjusted to reflect this.

We have also been approached by different political actors, VOLT and EFA among them, trying to see how there could be a mutual benefit of enhanced cooperation on the European level. This could be both within the scope of the Group in the European Parliament, and in the scope of an alliance with the aim to reach the requirements for being recognized by the EU as a European Political Party, as well as through other collaborations that come up as a consequence of these deliberations.

It would make sense to clarify the level of interest in the organisation for these kinds of external collaborations, to give the Board, and by extension the Secretary General, a clearer mandate to negotiate with our allies.

Proposal

The Council of the European Pirate Party adopts the following updated Common Pirate Strategy:

Common Pirate Strategy (CPS) - Clean version

A. Political cooperation

  1. All elected Pirate MEPs will form a joint Pirate delegation in the European Parliament. The Pirate delegation may chose themselves what name to publicly use for the delegation.
  2. Other MEPs can apply to the Board of the European Pirate Party to be allowed to join the Pirate delegation. The Pirate Delegation shall consider the recommendation from the Board before admitting such members
  3. Members of Pirate delegation shall respect the Common Pirate Strategy for European Parliament.
  4. The Pirate delegation shall be based on internal democracy, and strive for consensus around common solutions for all decisions taken. If a common solution can not be found, the delegation shall respect difference of opinions and consider the national political context involved.
  5. The Pirate delegation shall abide by the relationship agreement between the European Pirates and the Greens/EFA Group. Should the relationship agreement be terminated by either side, the delegation shall seek advice from the Board of the European Pirate Party regarding what Group to join, before taking any decision to join any Group. The Pirate delegation will only join a political group that is democratic, supporting freedom, progress and positive European solutions of common problems. Pirates will never join a political group hosting parties and movements with agenda including racism, xenophobia or suppression of human rights.
  6. The Pirate delegation shall elect a Delegation Leader, and any number of Deputy Leaders among its members.
  7. The Pirate delegation shall firmly oppose xenophobic, nationalist, and racist ideas.
  8. The Pirate delegation shall coordinate its political activities with the Board and the Council of the European Pirate Party.
  9. The Pirate delegation in the European parliament shall cooperate with any representatives of the European Pirate Party, and its member parties, elected into other assemblies.

B. Transparency

  1. Members of the Pirate Delegation shall uphold the ethical rules of the European Parliament, among others publishing of meetings, income and donations.
  2. Pirate members in the Pirate Delegation shall publish all their spendings from the General Expenditure Allowance, as well as corresponding invoices, in a single unified form.
  3. Overview of all Pirate employees and contractors hired from the parliamentary assistance budget, as well as through Group resources, shall be made public.
  4. The calendar of the scheduled activities for each Pirate MEPs in the Pirate Delegation shall be public.
  5. The Pirate delegation shall regularly report on its activities to the European Pirate Party Council meetings and through its communication channels.
  6. The Pirate delegation shall promote transparency throughout the European Parliament, with the aim that all decisions should be taken by Roll-Call-Votes. The Pirates shall, in particular, strive to ensure that any vote of elected representatives within the institution, as well as any votes on the rules of the Parliament, are taken by Roll-Call-Votes.

C. Organization rules of Pirate delegation

  1. The Pirate delegation shall use open-source software for it is operations, whenever possible. The Pirate delegation shall avoid proprietary platforms as e.g. Google docs in its operations. Any technical solution shall respect the privacy of its users.
  2. The working language of the Pirate delegation is English. The Pirates strives for openness and plurality, independently of nationality.
  3. Any positions of employment with a Pirate MEP in the Pirate Delegation shall be filled through a fair and open recruitment process. These openings shall be published in English, through the communication channels of the European Pirate Party. Internal transfers within the Delegation between two equivalent positions, prolongation of existing contracts, promotions in grade within the same type of contracts, as well as rehiring of staff to positions the’’ve previously held, may be exempt from these rules, as long as they are respecting all applicable parliamentary rules.
  4. The Pirate delegation shall consider previous experience of working for the Pirate delegation or other Pirate organisations as an advantage in the hiring process. Pirates strongly refuse nepotism and clientelism in any form.
  5. The Pirate delegation shall strive to be a progressive employer, by supporting modern ways of work organisation, e.g. remote work, flexible work hours, and part-time contracts. Pirates support equal opportunities and the inclusion of young people into politics.
  6. The Pirate delegation, and it’s Members, shall refuse to take unpaid trainees in their offices.
  7. Pirates strongly oppose harassment in any form. Pirates oppose any form of discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
  8. The pirate delegation may adopt further internal rules and guidelines for the functioning of the delegation.

Common Pirate Strategy (CPS) - Version with track changes: deletions are highlighted and struck through, additions are highlighted

A. Political cooperation

  1. All elected Pirate MEPs will form a joint Pirate delegation in the European Parliament. The Pirate delegation may chose themselves what name to publicly use for the delegation.
  2. Other MEPs can apply to the PPEU Board of the European Pirate Party to be allowed to join the Pirate delegation. The Pirate Delegation shall consider the recommendation from the PPEU Board before admitting such members
  3. Members of Pirate delegation shall uphold the 2024 Common European Election Programme and respect the Common Pirate Strategy for European Parliament.
  4. The Pirate delegation shall be based on internal democracy, and strive for consensus around common solutions for all decisions taken. If a common solution can not be found, the delegation shall respect difference of opinions and consider the national political context involved. External representation of the delegation shall be united and present Pirates as a single, strong movement.
  5. Unless the European Pirate Party Council has approved a pre-election agreement between the European Pirate Party and an existing political Group, the Pirate delegation shall strive to form a Pirate political group in the European parliament together with other parties and movements close to the Pirates. If this is not feasible, the Pirate delegation shall, as whole, taking into consideration the recommendation of the European Pirate Party Board, apply to join one of the existing political groups. The Pirate delegation shall abide by the relationship agreement between the European Pirates and the Greens/EFA Group. Should the relationship agreement be terminated by either side, the delegation shall seek advice from the Board of the European Pirate Party regarding what Group to join, before taking any decision to join any Group. The Pirate delegation will only join a political group that is democratic, supporting freedom, progress and positive European solutions of common problems. Pirates will never join a political group hosting parties and movements with agenda including racism, xenophobia or suppression of human rights.
  6. The Pirate delegation shall elect a Chairperson Delegation Leader, and any number of Deputy Leaders among its members. The vote shall take into consideration the experience of the individual member, as well as voters support in the election.
  7. The Pirate delegation shall firmly oppose xenophobic, nationalist, and racist ideas.
  8. The Pirate delegation shall coordinate its political activities with the Board and the Council of the European Pirate Party. The delegation shall represent all the members of The European Pirate Parties and take their interests into account.
  9. The Pirate delegation in the European parliament shall cooperate with any representatives of the European Pirate Party, and its member parties, elected into other assemblies.

B. Transparency

  1. Pirate members of European Parliament the Pirate Delegation shall uphold the ethical rules of the European Parliament, among others publishing of meetings, income and donations.
  2. Pirate members **in the Pirate Delegation **shall publish all their spendings from the General Expenditure Allowance, as well as corresponding invoices, in a single unified form.
  3. Overview of all Pirate employees and contractors hired from the parliamentary assistance budget, as well as through Group resources, shall be made public. The general framework for renumeration shall be published, with respect to individual privacy.
  4. The calendar of the scheduled activities for each Pirate MEPs **in the Pirate Delegation **shall be public.
  5. The Pirate delegation shall continue management of existing OpenRequest or deploy similar software to collect requests and feedback from citizens across Europe.
  6. The Pirate delegation shall regularly report on its activities to the European Pirate Party Council meetings and through its communication channels.
  7. The Pirate delegation shall promote transparency throughout the European Parliament, with the aim that all decisions should be taken by Roll-Call-Votes. The Pirates shall, in particular, strive to ensure that any vote of elected representatives within the institution, as well as any votes on the rules of the Parliament, are taken by Roll-Call-Votes.

C. Organization rules of Pirate delegation

  1. The Pirate delegation shall use open-source software for it is operations, whenever possible. The Pirate delegation shall avoid proprietary platforms as e.g. Google docs in its operations. Any technical solution shall respect the privacy of its users.
  2. The working language of the Pirate delegation is English. The Pirates strives for openness and plurality, independently of nationality.
  3. Any positions of employment with a Pirate MEP in the Pirate Delegation shall be filled through a fair and open recruitment process. These openings shall be published in English, through the communication channels of the European Pirate Party. Internal transfers within the Delegation between two equivalent positions, prolongation of existing contracts, promotions in grade within the same type of contracts, as well as rehiring of staff to positions the’’ve previously held, may be exempt from these rules, as long as they are respecting all applicable parliamentary rules.
  4. The Pirate delegation shall consider previous experience of working for the Pirate delegation or other Pirate organisations as an advantage in the hiring process. Pirates strongly refuse nepotism and clientelism in any form.
  5. The Pirate delegation shall strive to be a progressive employer, by supporting modern ways of work organisation, e.g. remote work, flexible work hours, and part-time contracts. Pirates support equal opportunities and the inclusion of young people into politics.
  6. The Pirate delegation, and it’s Members, shall refuse to take unpaid trainees in their offices.
  7. The Pirate delegation shall maintain a network of pan-european volunteers, who can contribute with valuable input, and support the work of the delegation.
  8. Pirates strongly oppose harassment in any form. Pirates oppose any form of discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
  9. The pirate delegation may adopt further internal rules and guidelines for the functioning of the delegation.

The Council of the European Pirate Party encourages the Board to explore collaborations with external allies to maximize the gains we can get on the European level through our presence in the European Parliament and in the member states of the EU.

21st Council Meeting | Draft Agenda