to help establish, to support and promote, and to maintain communication and co-operation between pirate parties around the world.
The PPI advocate on the international level for the promotion of goals its members share such as protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the digital age, consumer and authors' rights-oriented reform of copyright and related rights, support of information privacy, transparency, and free access to information.
The name "Pirates" itself is a reappropriation of the title that was given to internet users by the representatives of the music and film industry and does not refer to any illegal activity.
History
The first Pirate Party was the Swedish Piratpartiet, founded on 1 January 2006.
Other parties and groups were formed in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. In 2007, representatives of these parties met in Vienna, Austria to form an alliance and plan for the 2009 European Parliament elections.[4] Further conferences were held in 2008 in Berlin and Uppsala, the latter leading to the "Uppsala Declaration" of a basic platform for the elections.[5]
In 2009, the original Pirate Party won 7.1% of the vote[6]
in Sweden's European Parliament elections and won two of Sweden's twenty MEP seats, inspired by a surge in membership following the trial and conviction of three members of the ideologically aligned Pirate Bay a year earlier.[7]
On 18 April 2010, the Pirate Parties International was formally founded in Brussels at the PPI Conference from April 16 to 18.[1]
Uppsala Declaration
At the 2009 conference of Pirate Parties International in Uppsala (Sweden), European Pirate parties agreed on a common declaration of the parties' goals for the upcoming election of the European Parliament.[8][9]
Central issues of the declaration are:
reform of copyright, exemption of non-commercial activity from copyright regulation, reduction of the duration of copyright protections; banning of DRM technologies, opposition to media or hardware levies;
reform of patent law, particularly stating that patents on life (including patents on seeds and genes) and software should not be allowed;
strengthening civil rights, transparent government, speedy and fair trial, freedom of speech, and expansion of the right to anonymity in communication.
Prague Declaration
At the conference of Pirate Parties International in Prague (Czech Republic) in 2012, European Pirate parties agreed to run in the elections to the European Parliament in the year 2014 with a common program as well as establish a European political party (European Pirate Party, PPEU). The declaration[10] has been followed by conferences in Potsdam and Barcelona to work on the structure of the legal body to come and the statutes for it.
Hack the Promise Festival Basel 2025
In 2025, Pirate Parties International board member Schoresch Davoodi presented the keynote "Hack the System – At Least a Little" at the Hack the Promise Festival in Basel. He reframed the hacker ethos as a democratic practice of precision, openness, and collaboration, arguing that defending freedom today means improving systems rather than destroying them.[11]
Member Parties
As of 18 June 2025, PPI lists the following 28[12] Ordinary members with the voting power of 26 (parties sharing territory split the vote among themselves):
Africa
Pirate Party of Tunisia
Asia and the Pacific
Pirate Party of Australia
Pirate Party of Israel
Pirate Party of New Zealand (1/2 vote; vote shared with IP New Zealand below)
Internet Party New Zealand (1/2 vote; vote shared with PP New Zealand)
Pirate Party of Turkey (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Turkish party)
Pirate Party Turkey (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Turkish party)
The member party list mentions the Pirate Party of Australia both as an Ordinary member and as a former member.
Resignations
In February 2015, Pirate Party Australia resigned from PPI due to serious disagreement with the direction and management of the organization.[13] In the same month, Pirate Party UK also resigned[14] and in March the Belgian Pirate Party suspended its membership within PPI.[15]
On 20 April 2015, the Pirate Party of Iceland voted overwhelmingly to leave PPI.[16] A member of the executive, Arnaldur Sigurðarson, reported a 96.56% vote in favor of leaving, adding: "PPI has been pretty much useless when it comes to its objectives which should be to encourage international cooperation between Pirate Parties."
In May 2015, the Pirate Party of Sweden resolved with a significant majority to leave PPI, canceling their observer status.[17]
In 2022, the Pirate Party of Austria withdrew from the Pirate Parties International.[18]
In December 2023, Florie Marie resigned from her role as chairperson of the Pirate Parties International after less than one year.[19]
On 30 January 2024, the Pirate Party of France resigned.[20]
On 1 June 2025, the Pirate Party of Greece's 12th Congress unanimously decided to leave the European Pirate Party and the Pirate Parties International, citing ideological issues, a lack of political added value, and a lack of room for "constructive and productive political discourse".[21]
On 1 February 2026, the United States Pirate Party voted unanimously to officially leave Pirate Parties International,[22] citing its stance on the Gaza genocide and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which it views as inconsistent with Pirates' universal promotion of the right to self-determination, as well as perceived incompatibilities in the affiliations and prior work of a senior PPI officer with Pirate principles. In their statements concerning their resignation and distancing from the PPI, they are also specifically and particularly critical of the Pirate Party Germany on this matter.[23]
Structure
This organization needs to be updated. Please update this organization to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2025)
The PPI is governed by a board, formerly led by two co-chairs,[24] and since the Warsaw conference of 2015 by a chair and a vice-chair. Policy, governance, and applications for membership are the responsibility of the PPI General Assembly which must convene at least once per year.[25] By the current rules, board members are elected for a two-year term, half of the board being elected every year. Since the 2019 General Assembly, the Board has 9 members (previously 7). General Secretary and Treasurer positions are filled by the board by its members.
PPI Board
No.
Term
Co-Chairs (chair & vice-chair from 2015 onwards)
General Secretary
Treasurer
Member of the board
Alternates
1st Board
IV/2010
III/2011
Grégory Engels,
Jerry Weyer
Joachim Mönch
Nicolas Sahlqvist
Aleksandar Blagojevic, Jakub Michálek, Bogomil Shopov
–
2nd Board
III/2011
IV/2012
Samir Allioui,
Marcel Kolaja (receded)
Lola Voronina
Pat Mächler
Finlay Archibald (receded), Paul da Silva (receded), Thomas Gaul
–
3rd Board
IV/2012
IV/2013
Grégory Engels,
Lola Voronina
Travis McCrea
Ed Geraghty
Nuno Cardoso, Jelena Jovanović, Denis Simonet
Brendan Molloy, Thomas Gaul, Alessandra Minoni, Andrew Norton (receded)
4th Board
IV/2013
IV/2014
Grégory Engels,
Vojtěch Pikal
Thomas Gaul
Marc Tholl
Nuno Cardoso, Azat Gabrakhmanov, Denis Simonet
Jelena Jovanović, Paul Bossu, Radosław Pietroń, Yasin Aydın
5th Board
IV/2014
VII/2015
Maša Čorak,
Koen de Voegt
Thomas Gaul
Sebastian Krone
Grégory Engels, Anders Kleppe, Stathis Leivaditis
Marco Confalonieri, Yasin Aydın, Min Chiaki, Chemseddine Ben Jemaa
6th Board
VII/2015
VII/2016
Andrew Reitemeyer (chair)
Patrick Schiffer (vice-chair)
Henrique Peer
Karla Medrano
Min Chiaki, Chemseddine Ben Jemaa, Dr. Richard Hill,
Anders Kleppe, Nikolay Voronov, Koen De Voegt, Grégory Engels
7th Board
VII/2016
XI/2017
Guillaume Saouli (chair)
Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)
Thomas Gaul
Keith L. Goldstein
Andrew Reitemeyer, Raymond Johansen, Koen De Voegt
Nikolay Voronov, Patrick Schiffer, Adam Wolf, Grégory Engels
8th Board
XI/2017
XI/2018
Guillaume Saouli (chair)
Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)
Keith L. Goldstein
Thomas Gaul
Koen De Voegt, Raymond Johansen, Nikolay Voronov
Adam Wolf, Etienne Evellin, Daniel Dantas Prazeres, Grégory Engels
9th Board
XI/2018
XII/2019
Guillaume Saouli (chair)
Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)
Keith L. Goldstein
Michal Gill
Etienne Evellin, Raymond Johansen, Ladislav Koubek
Daniel Dantas Prazeres, Grégory Engels, Kitty Hundal, Cédric Levieux
10th Board
XII/2019
XII/2020
Bailey Lamon (chair)
Grégory Engels (vice-chair)
Keith L. Goldstein
Daniel Dantas Prazeres
Cédric Levieux, Thomas Gaul, Michal Gill, Linda B. Tørklep, Giuseppe Calandra
Sebastian Krone, Carlos Polo, Svein Mork Dahl, Cristina Diana Bargu[26]
11th Board
XII/2020
I/2022
Bailey Lamon (chair)
Grégory Engels (vice-chair)
Michal Gill
Sebastian Krone
Keith L. Goldstein, Carlos Polo, Manuel Caicedo, Template:Country data CAT Dario Castane, Daniel Dantas Prazeres
Svein Mork Dahl, Thomas Gaul, Ji Yong Dijkhuis
12th Board
since
I/2022
Bailey Lamon (chair)
Grégory Engels (vice-chair)
Michal Gill
Sebastian Krone
Keith L. Goldstein, Carlos Polo, Manuel Caicedo, Template:Country data CAT Dario Castane, Alexander Isavnin, Mauricio Vargas
Ji Yong Dijkhuis Veronika Murzynová Adam Wolf Sebastian Krone
13th Board
since I/2023
Florie Marie (chair)
Grégory Engels (vice-chair)
TBD
TBD
Keith L. Goldstein Michael Toledo Bailey Lamon
Michal Gill Julian Häffner Alexander Isavnin Mauricio Vargas
Mia Utz Adam Wolf Sebastian Krone Raman Ojha Carlos Polo
14th Board
since I/2024
Grégory Engels (chair)
Keith L. Goldstein (vice-chair)
TBD
TBD
Bailey Lamon,
Alexander Isavnin, Sebastian Krone, Owen C. Richardson, Michael Toledo, Julian Häffner, Mia Utz
Raman Ojha,
Carlos Polo, Thomas Gaul
15th Board
since I/2025
Keith L. Goldstein (chair)
Grégory Engels (vice-chair)
TBD
TBD
Bailey Lamon,
Alexander Isavnin, Sebastian Krone, Mark Anthony, Michael Toledo, Raman Ojha, Carlos Polo, Thomas Gaul
↑"ICYMI: Updates from the 2/1 Meeting". 2 February 2026. https://uspirates.org/icymi-updates-from-the-2-1-meeting/. "The PNC also voted to confirm that we are no longer members of Pirate Party International, voting to leave via unanimous vote. As stated in the Part II of the most recent Through the Spyglass article: We are not members of PPI. This vote was to tie up any loose ends and confirm our departure for the record."