A New Chapter for Europe
On May 9th, 1950, the signing of the Schuman Declaration set in motion the long chain of events that would bind the nations of Europe into an ever-closer economic union.
On Europe Day — May 9th, 2026 — we at Astra Europa have released our manifesto including 12 Guiding Stars for a New Europe.
Astra Europa is a new liberal, federalist, and forwardist pan-European political movement.
Europe has the talent, the wealth, the science, and the imagination to flourish; Astra Europa has been founded to harness those strengths and set Europe on a path to the stars.
We are unapologetically optimistic and ambitious about Europe’s future — a future that unleashes its potential rather than retreating into green degrowth, failed socialist experiments, or a tribal identitarianism that fetishises myths written by some ancient farmers, who tried to escape the fact that their lives were nasty, brutish, and short.
We’re building a pan-European network and party following the blue prints of Volt and Ave Europa, but with a clearly liberal, democratic, and forward-looking platform — one that moves beyond the tribalism of both left and right.
Who We Are
Astra Europa has been founded by, among others:
- the former Ave Europa Netherlands chairs and leaders Rolf Strijdhorst, Daniel Schravendijk and Herman v/d Dool;
- Economist Ivo Ijssennagger;
- Policy Analyst Giorgio Cacciaguerra Ranghieri;
- Machine Learning Engineer Pietro Gorilskij;
- former EU Made Simple Partnership Manager Elliot Baudeweyns;
- former Ave Europa Poland chairman and We Are Europe activist Bruno Topiński;
- former Shopify board member Matthias Matthiesen;
- the founder of NXT4EU, Odin;
- and the former Ave Europa Head of Communications Nikodem Skrobisz.
Read Astra Europa's "Manifesto for a United Europe"
An Unexpected Welcome
What was intended as a soft launch has been received with far more attention and positive resonance than we anticipated. In less than 24 hours, the French daily La Croix has reported on us, hundreds have signed up for our newsletter, and we have gained more than a thousand followers across our social media platforms.
We’ll share more on how to participate and get involved in the coming weeks and months. To stay informed, sign up to our mailing list — we’ll let you know the moment our gates open for volunteers and members.
