25 November 2012 the “Piratenpartij Nederland” (Pirate Party Netherlands) convened their annual general assembly. Well attended by over 60 Pirates, they elected several positions of the PPNL Core Team.

Open positions included Audit Committee, Presidium and Members Council. There was in all cases positive, neutral or negative vote for the members. Not all of the positions were filled and there had been discussions and disagreements on a number of points which were dependent on previous motions. So Pirate Party Netherlands is still searching for more people to fill the board, especially for people who want to form the Court of Appeals. At the next General Assembly, it is possible to run for office and be elected.

Based on the motion “Reserve Members of the Council of Members” (by Joeri Oudshoorn, voted on and adopted at the Annual General Meeting) reserve members were appointed to the Council of Members. During the General Assembly an amendment to the motion was tabled. This amendment added that every person reaching a simple majority, would be treated as a reserve member (of the board) to be called upon as required.

Finally there is a group working on a constructive proposal to address the problems concerning older motions and to solve them once and for all. A very early version was ready within 24 hours after having first gained approval. This was done early, at the request of some members, because of the context of transparency and crowdsourcing . The Netherlands Pirates are hopeful that the issues raised and the irregularities caused by this proposal were well based. It also proposes to fix a completely new decision structure.

All power flows back to the members through two channels: Provincial and National. Provincial is determined by each regional department. Through an interaction of different organs and by the way it is constructed, sole power lies with the members themselves. This is also the principle of the Pirate Party.

Roberto Moretti, a Pirate from Heerlen in the Dutch province of Limburg and a newly elected reserve member of the board, states:

“To follow the progress of the Pirate Party, the Uppsala Declaration will be a fundamental principle from which there can be no derogation. This is actually already ratified, but the Dutch Pirates go further than such statements by adding extra power to the requirements of the Party. Ultimately, we want to ensure that these statutes represent and best protect Pirate Principles. To protect also the very democratic heart of the party, while allowing the possibility for a board or similar body to make quick decisions when necessary.”

Election results for the Core Team

Audit Committee
Robert Brink

Presidium
Robert Brink
Joeri Oudshoorn

Council of Members
David van Deijk
Michiel Dulfer
Alex Haan
Tamara van Haarlem
Steven Russchenberg
Roland Louter
Hannah Puntjes – first reserve member
Roberto Moretti – second reserve member

Update on BREIN: 31,329 € of 50k received until now!

Since the announcement of the appeal in the case against BREIN (Anti-Piracy Program of the Netherlands: “Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland”) the Pirate Party Netherlands received a lot of financial support through endorsements from people both inside and outside the Party. But they are not there yet: The largest legal bills have been paid, but the bottom of the treasury has come back into view. On the website of PPNL there is a passionate statement: “If we needed a motivation to make our push for an uncensored and free internet, then we will provide that result. Even people around me, including those of the Pirate Party who don’t even know, the sympathy for BREIN is very low. Our moral sense of duty is therefore even bigger, and we promise you that we will make every effort to bring this to a good result. Our involvement in politics has unfortunately had to wait, but we will continue to fight tirelessly for our ideals!”

Satirical translation of BREIN: Busy Ruining Everyone’s Internet & Networking

Donate to help the netherland Pirates in the anti-piracy case here!

Pictures: CC-BY-SA Pirate Party Netherlands

About Patrick Schiffer

I am living in Duesseldorf, Germany and I am a Member of the Pirate Party since March 2012. I’ve studied Arts & Visual Communication at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. I speak german, english, french and dutch fluently. I am interested in developing & spreading the ideas coming out of and getting into the Pirate movement worldwide. For that, I think this international newsletter is a great thing. And I’d love to work & communicate with pirates from different countries all over the world so that I would like to help and contribute by spreading news, commenting, making graphics, writing & lectorating for Pirate Times. I am active in several working groups in Germany and in co-coordinating the founding of the PP EU.

 

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25 November 2012 the “Piratenpartij Nederland” (Pirate Party Netherlands) convened their annual general assembly. Well attended by over 60 Pirates, they elected several positions of the PPNL Core Team. Open…