(1) Name

The name of the association is “Young Pirates of Europe a.s.b.l.”, abbreviated “YPE”. Both the full and the abbreviated names may be used indistinguishably. A list of official translations of the association’s name which may be used by the member associations is included in the Annex.

(2) Seat

The seat of the association is at the following address: 1a rue de Luxembourg, 8184 Kopstal, Luxembourg. EPIC may move the seat anywhere in Luxembourg by simple majority vote. The board may do so as well unanimously.

(3) Language

English shall be the working language of the association. Any initiatives and proposals can only be adopted if they have been translated into English prior to the start of the decision-making process on the level of the association. In the event of divergence or of doubt between these statutes in the original version in English and any version in another language, the English language version prevails.

The main goal of YPE is to bring together European pirate youth organisations and other youth organisations that work on digital issues and for transparency in government, participating democracy and civil rights as well as their members, improving not only the coordination of their political work, but also supporting cultural and personal exchange. As a federation of youth organisations, education and personal development of young people as well as the exchange of ideas and support of each other is an equally important aim of YPE. YPE supports access to information and education, copyright reform and the protection of fundamental human rights. These goals shall for example be achieved by:

● Organising meetings between the different member organisations; such as youth camps, political meet-ups or social gatherings;

● Sharing information between the organisations; holding contact with and informing each other of relevant events, translating information and sharing results of collective efforts;

● Establishing and maintaining common communication resources;

● Issuing publications for re-use by the member associations.

(1) Establishment of Membership / Membership Criteria

The association consists of at least three members from at least three EU member states. Eligible as members are youth organizations of Pirate Parties and youth associations in any state in Europe as defined by the Council of Europe which work towards the policy goals of YPE. Members shall maintain their name, identity and full autonomy of action and policy goals from YPE.

(2) Admission of New Members

To become a member of the association, any aspiring organisation needs to send an application to the Board of the association to the official e-mail or postal address. The application shall be distributed to all members. If no EPIC is already called, the Board calls an EPIC meeting to decide upon the application, otherwise the application is added to the agenda. 3 YPE Statutes, Last update November 2020 The membership begins with the decision of EPIC entering into force.

(3) Membership Rights

All members have the following rights:

to appoint delegates. No delegate may represent more than one association;
to vote at EPIC meetings on all matters;
to speak at EPIC meetings;
to table resolutions and amendments as well as contribute other items to the agenda of EPIC meetings;
to file motions at Board meetings;
to nominate candidates for the Board. No member can nominate more than two people at the same EPIC meeting;
to have access to all documents of the association;
to use the association's logo and other representational devices.

(4) Membership Obligations

All members have the following obligations:

to comply with all the regulations of the statutes of the association;
to cease and desist any actions which may harm the association or are contrary to the goals of the association or damage the association in any other way;
to conduct their financial organisation in a transparent and accountable manner;
to pay their designated membership fee in a timely manner;
to report when asked by the Board to the association on its activities and policy developments and
to provide the Board with up to date contact information of the delegates.

(5) Membership fee

Each member must pay a membership fee of 500 € per year. Any member may apply for an exemption or reduction of the membership fee to the Board. The membership fee for any year is due on 1st of January of that year. New members must pay the full membership fee for the year in which they are accepted into YPE no later than one month after they have been accepted as a member. Membership fees are fixed in Euro; they are to be paid without deduction of incurred costs.

(6) End of Membership

The membership ends if:

the member resigns by registered letter from a duly mandated person to the registered office of the association;
the member association is dissolved;
the member has failed to pay its membership fee for two consecutive years and has not been exempted from paying its fee by a Board decision;
EPIC votes to expel the member with at least twice as many yes-votes as no-votes;
EPIC decides not to ratify a membership approved by the Board.

The Board can unanimously suspend a member due to gross violation of the membership obligations or failure to meet the membership criteria. A final decision on the membership of the member shall be made on the next EPIC meeting. If the member changes its name or merges with another association, it must inform the Board immediately. The Board shall assess the degree of continuity of the new organisation with the association’s member and will decide on the confirmation of the membership status. This decision shall be confirmed at the next EPIC meeting. Both decisions require at least twice as many yes-votes than no-votes.

(1) European Pirates Instituted Council (EPIC)

EPIC is the association’s highest decision-making body. EPIC regularly meets at least once in every calendar year. An extraordinary EPIC meeting (EPIC FAIL) takes place if requested by at least one third of the members or by the Board. Electronic presence is considered equal to physical presence.

EPIC meetings may only make decisions if at least half of the members entitled to vote are present or represented. If less than half of the members entitled to vote are present or represented, another EPIC meeting may be called no sooner than 15 calendar days later with the same agenda. The second meeting of EPIC shall be entitled to take valid decisions irrespective of the number of members with voting rights present or represented. EPIC consists of up to two delegates from every member. Every member’s vote has the same weight. Delegates from one member may only cast their vote together.

EPIC has the following powers and obligations:

EPIC may elect the Board from the candidates nominated by at least one member;
EPIC may elect up to two auditors at EPIC meetings;
EPIC approves the association's annual accounts for the past financial year and the budget for the next year;
After approval of the annual accounts and the budget, EPIC shall vote on granting discharge to the members of the Board and, if appropriate, the auditor(s), if any have been appointed;
EPIC decides on motions presented to it by any member or Board member;
EPIC may approve changes of the statutes with at least twice as many yes-votes as no-votes.

Proposals to change the statutes must be presented by e-mail to the Secretary General, who will transmit them to the members of EPIC for deliberation at least six weeks prior to the meeting at which EPIC will deliberate and decide on those proposals. If a majority of member organizations are in attendance, EPIC may approve changes to the statutes that have not previously been distributed by the Secretary-General unanimously.

EPIC may dissolve the association in accordance with the rules set out in § 7.

(2) The Board

The Board consists of one President, one Treasurer, one Secretary General and up to four additional Board members. Board members must not be older than 29 years at the beginning of their term. If they turn 30 years old during their term, they may finish the term, but not run for the Board again. The Board is elected at least once a year. The President represents the association to the public. The President shall ensure that the Board convenes on regular intervals. The Treasurer supervises the budget and the accounts of the association. The Treasurer will initiate, monitor and publish financial protocols to ensure openness and transparency. The Treasurer shall report to the members at least every six months. The Treasurer, together with the Secretary General, is responsible for any grant applications on behalf of the association. The Treasurer shall monitor the financial developments, protocols and financial transparency in the member associations.

The Secretary General represents the association to its members by monitoring the fulfilment of members’ obligations, informing members of Board decisions and organising the EPIC meetings. The Secretary General, together with the Treasurer, is responsible for any grant applications on behalf of the association.

The President, the Treasurer and the Secretary General are individually authorised to legally represent the association and to sign contracts on behalf of the association (“Executive board”). The Board has

the following powers and obligations:

The Board decides on all matters of the association by simple majority of the Board members, unless the Statutes state otherwise;
The Board can take time-sensitive decisions that it believes to be in line with the policy objectives of the member organisations. The Board informs the member organisations about this decision immediately and any member organisations can veto this decision;
The Board decides on motions presented to it by any member or Board member;
For the purposes of certain actions and duties or everyday management functions, the Board may transfer its powers to one or more members of the Board or even another person. The powers of the said person(s) shall be defined precisely by the Board; the Board may at any time revoke these powers with immediate effect;
The Board presents the annual accounts for the past financial year and the budget for the next year to the members four weeks before the EPIC meeting;
The Board sends out an e-mail invitation to the EPIC meeting to all delegates and boards of the member organisations at least six weeks before the date. The invitation must include a preliminary agenda, which must include all proposals for changing the Statutes. If the agenda does not include any statute changes or elections, the invitation period is reduced to at least two weeks. An EPIC FAIL may be called by the Board;
The Board makes the decisions made by any EPIC available to all of the member organisations through its homepage.
The Board must call an EPIC FAIL at the earliest feasible date no earlier than three weeks after it was requested by at least one third of the members. If the Board is unable to do so, the organisation with the highest number of members must call for an EPIC FAIL; Any Board member may resign at any time by informing the other Board members. The Board has to communicate the resignation to the members as soon as possible. If the President, the Treasurer or the Secretary General resigns, the Board may unanimously appoint a successor among its Board members. If the Board cannot unanimously appoint a successor, it has to call an EPIC FAIL at the earliest feasible date. If a majority of the members request impeachment of the Board or individual members of the Board, the Board has to call an EPIC FAIL as soon as possible. The EPIC FAIL may decide to impeach the Board members for whom impeachment has been requested and to hold a re-election for those positions. The Board members remain in office unless the EPIC FAIL decides to impeach them.

5 Financial Provisions

The association is financed by membership fees, donations, public subsidies and other legal contributions authorised by the Board. The financial year of the association shall run from 1st of January to 31st of December of the same year. At the end of each financial year, the Board shall adopt the annual accounts for the past financial year and the budget for the next year in the manner provided for by law and shall then submit them annually for approval by EPIC. At least four weeks before the annual EPIC meeting, the accounts and budget shall be communicated to the members of EPIC, who may then ask to inspect, without removal, any of the documents on which these accounts and budgets are based. A surplus shall be added to the assets of the association and may not under any circumstances be paid to the members as a dividend or in any other way. EPIC may decide to grant reimbursement of costs in relation with offices and functions fulfilled for the association, if the financial situation of the association allows it. This decision will be made at the annual EPIC meeting together with the adoption of the budget for the next year.

If the association is so required, the status of transactions to be reflected in the annual accounts shall be entrusted to up to two auditors appointed by EPIC. EPIC shall determine the remuneration of auditors, if any. EPIC may revoke their mandates at any meeting. The auditors shall jointly or separately have an unlimited right to scrutinize any transactions of the association. They may inspect on the premises the books, correspondence, minutes and generally any documents of the association.

The association exists for an unlimited time. The association is not dissolved as a result of the dissolution or resignation of a member, provided that at least three members remain. The association may be dissolved by a four-fifth majority decision of EPIC with at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote present or represented. The dissolution must have been included in the invitation to the EPIC meeting. If the quota is not reached, a new meeting of EPIC shall be called no earlier than 15 calendar days after the first meeting. The invitation to the second meeting of EPIC must also include the dissolution. The second meeting of EPIC shall be entitled to take valid decisions irrespective of the number of members with voting rights present or represented.

In the event that the association is dissolved, EPIC shall decide by a simple majority of the votes cast on the appointment, powers and remuneration of the liquidators, the methods and procedures for the liquidation of the association and the destination to be given to the net assets of the association. The net assets of the association will have to be allocated to a non-profit purpose. They may be divided among the member associations according to their financial contributions.