Pirate Party of Greece: Difference between revisions

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=== 2nd Congress of 2013 ===

In the 2nd Congress (2013), the party’s members voted to remove an explicit reference to direct democracy from its principles, opting instead for a more general wording. This was reverted in the 12th Congress of 2025, with the adoption of the Rethymno Declaration.

=== European Elections 2014 ===

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=== 12th Congress of June 2025 ===

On 1 June 2025, the 12th Congress of the party unanimously decided to furter expand and strengthen its Statutes,<ref>{{cite web |title=Καταστατικό του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας |url=https://www.pirateparty.gr/katastatiko-2/ |website=Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate Party of Greece |publisher=Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate Party of Greece |access-date=4 October 2025 |language=Greek}}</ref> affirming its alignment with the [[Progressivism|progressive]] parties of the political spectrum, domestically and internationally. It also unanimously decided to leave the European Pirate Party and the Pirate Parties International, with its resignation pointing to a deep ideological and moral schism. Finally, it decided to replace the Uppsala Declaration<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.piratpartiet.se/nyheter/european_pirate_platform_2009 |title=The Uppsala Declaration or European Pirate Parties Declaration of a basic platform for the European Parliamentary Election of 2009 |publisher=Piratpartiet |date=2008-07-02 |access-date=2010-05-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908223042/http://www.piratpartiet.se/nyheter/european_pirate_platform_2009 |archive-date=2010-09-08 }}</ref> with the Rethymno Declaration.

=== The Rethymno Declaration ===

Political party in Greece

The Pirate Party of Greece (Greek: Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας) is a political party in Greece. Initially based on the model of the Swedish Pirate Party, it supports reform of copyright law, the abolition of patents, and respect for privacy. In recent years, it has expanded its scope to a broader range of policy topics, such as its support for a fully secular state, the adoption of universal basic income, its opposition to militarism, nationalism, colonialism, and its drive for the further democratization of the European Union.^[2]

The party was founded on 14 January 2012. It was officially recognized on 10 February 2012, and had 480 members on that date.^[3]
In 2013, during its 2nd Congress, its members voted to tottaly ban the reference to direct democracy in its principles ^[4], and it was the only Pirate Party that did that. The decision against Direct Democracy was somehow reverted in the 12th Congress of June 2025 with the adoption of the Rethymno Declaration,^[5] where the word “democracy” was mentioned 22 times, but only a single time the word “Direct and participatory democracy” (a variety of Direct Democracy that gives everyone a voice, but not necessarily an equal vote) was also mentioned, as a prerequisite for the strengthening of democracy and the rule of Law,
which calls into question the party’s democratic procedures, given the unanimous decision without mentioning the number of those who agreed.

It was a full member of the Pirate Parties International^[6] and the European Pirate Party until June 2025, when an unknown number of members unanimously voted to leave the two entities, citing ideological issues, a lack of political added value, and a lack of room for “constructive and productive political discourse”.^[7].

History

May/June Legislative Elections 2012

In the 6 May 2012 Greek legislative election, the party managed to present candidates in 31 of the 56 constituencies and secured 0.51% (32,484) of the total votes.^[8] Out of 32 parties, the Pirate Party came 19th. In the June 2012 election the party received 0.23% of the vote (14,169), coming 14th out of 21 parties.^[9]

2nd Congress of 2013

European Elections 2014

On 25 May 2014, the party participated in the 2014 European elections in a coalition with Ecologist Greens. The coalition received 0,90% (51.573) of the vote.^[11] Noted that Ecologist Greens (standalone with no coalition and before their breakup in two separate parties) received in the May 2012 election 2,93% (185.366) of the vote, and in the June 2012 election 0.88% (54.420) of the vote. Their second half, Prasinoi participated separately in the European elections and received 0.50% (28,460 votes).

European Elections 2019

In May 2019, the party participated in the 2019 European elections in a coalition with Popular Unity.^[12] The coalition received 0,56% (31.674) of the vote.^[13]

11th Congress of 2023

In November 2023, the party’s 11th Congress adopted new, more comprehensive, Statutes and decided to expand its scope by trying to address areas such as education, healthcare, public administration, and immigration.^[14] In this Congress, marking a break from classic Pirate practice, it abolished the “not left, not center, not right” approach adopted by many other Pirate Parties, deeming it “neo-LePenist” and a backdoor for ideological and political derailment into the far-right.^[15]

12th Congress of June 2025

On 1 June 2025, the 12th Congress of the party unanimously decided to furter expand and strengthen its Statutes,^[16] affirming its alignment with the progressive parties of the political spectrum, domestically and internationally. It also unanimously decided to leave the European Pirate Party and the Pirate Parties International, with its resignation pointing to a deep ideological and moral schism. Finally, it decided to replace the Uppsala Declaration^[17] with the Rethymno Declaration.^[18]

The Rethymno Declaration

The Rethymno Declaration, adopted by the party in its 12th Congress of 2025, is its new official ideological manifesto, which replaces the Uppsala Declaration. It complements its Statutes as approved in 2025 and seeks to be a more concrete and coherent political and ideological document than the Uppsala Declaration, maintaining Pirate principles at its core.

It begins with a sharp criticism of the transnational and international Pirate institutions (PPEU and PPI) for their inaction and silence on serious incidents of backslide in Press freedom, erosion of democracy and the rule of Law, lack of government accountability in Greece, the Gaza genocide, as well as procedural abuses by the leaderships of the PPEU and PPI to prevent any actual political discourse from taking place.

It then presents what the party views as the “seven plagues” of the Pirate Movement, before proceeding to make the case for an independent and radical Pirate Movement, and puts forward eight axes of political mobilization, which are further expanded upon:

Human-Civil-Social Rights
Strengthening of Democracy and the Rule of Law – Improvement of Public Administration
Economic/Financial, Social, Gender, and Environmental Justice – Protection of Social Goods
Free and Equitable Access to Education for All
Digital, Intellectual, and Communication Rights
A New Economic Model
Active, Practical Opposition to Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism
The European Vision of the New Pirate Movement

Among its many provisions is the reinstatement of direct and participatory democracy among the party’s principles.

Election results

Hellenic Parliament

Election	Hellenic Parliament					Rank	Government	Leader
Election	Votes	%	±pp	Seats won	+/−	Rank	Government	Leader
May 2012	32,519	0.51%	New		New	19th	Extra-parliamentary	Collective leadership
Jun 2012	14,170	0.23%	−0.28		0	15th	Extra-parliamentary
Jan 2015	Did not contest				0	—	Extra-parliamentary
Sep 2015^[a]	15,282	0.28%	+0.05		0	14th	Extra-parliamentary
2019	Did not contest				0	—	Extra-parliamentary
May 2023	Did not contest				0	—	Extra-parliamentary
Jun 2023^[b]	15,911	0.31%	+0.03		0	15th	Extra-parliamentary

Pirate Party of Greece: Difference between revisions