Pirate parties meet in Catalonia for their first Congress aiming to create a future European party

Cornellà de Llobregat (ACN).- Forty representatives from different pirate parties have laid the foundation for a future European party at the first Congress of Pirate Parties from Europe, which took place this weekend in Greater Barcelona, in Cornellà de Llobregat. The Pirate Party of Catalonia was host to the meeting, with future meetings set in Paris and Manchester where the statutes of the future European party will be laid out. The political movement has proposed freedom of information, more transparency and greater public participation to tackle the current economic and political crisis. 

 “We must decide among us what needs to be done. We cannot accept orders from above, especially without information” said the Spokesperson for the Pirates of Catalonia, Kenneth Peiruza. He criticised the “total lack of public information” regarding the European governments’ efforts to combat the crisis.

Peiruza insisted on the need for a public referendum since the citizens should deicide if they agree with the “social cuts” which have been imposed by the European, Spanish and Catalan executives. “Everybody should be able to participate in any decision that directly affects them”, he stated.

The right to be involved with decisions which affect the public also applies when considering the question of Catalan independence. The Pirates of Catalonia support a referendum on Catalonia’s self-determination, although they do not take sides on the issue itself. At present there are 800 party members, mainly involved via the Internet.

Once the European Pirate Party is formalised in 2013, the next step for the Catalan party will be to ally with other Pirate Parties in Spain to form a candidature for the European elections in 2014. In fact there are already representatives on a European level, namely the Swedish Pirate Party which gained two seats at the European Parliament in the last election.

The Swedish Pirate Party was the first to be founded in 2006. Soon a party was set up in Germany and then it spread throughout Europe and the world. Pirate Parties have been particularly successful within Europe. For example they achieved 15 seats in Berlin’s Parliament in 2011.

Representatives from Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Catalonia are the most committed to the joint European effort. In 2013, the European Pirate Party will represent those fighting for freedom of information, unrestricted access to the internet and other media, privacy and public participation.