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Speaker: Julia Reda

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Julia Reda was elected to the European Parliament for the Pirate Party in 2014. She is a Vice-Chair of her parliamentary group, the Greens/European Free Alliance. In the European Parliament, she serves as a coordinator for the Greens/EFA in the Committee on Internal Market & Consumer Protection (IMCO), as a member of the Legal Affairs (JURI) and Petition (PETI) Committees and was elected to the Enquiry Committee on the Emissions Scandal ("Dieselgate"). She co-founded the Digital Agenda intergroup. Her legislative focus is on copyright and internet policy issues. In 2015, she was responsible for the Parliament's evaluation of the Copyright Directive.

Born in Bonn in 1986, Julia Reda was a member of the German Social Democrats for six years before joining the Piratenpartei in 2009 amidst a debate on internet blocking. She served as chairwoman of the party's youth wing from 2010 to 2012 and is a founder of the Young Pirates of Europe. She holds an M.A. in political science and communications science from Johannes-Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany.

The global Pirate Party movement was born in 2006. Pirates, who believe in using technology for the empowerment of all, have so far enjoyed significant electoral success in Sweden, Germany, Iceland and the Czech Republic and have raised the visibility of their techno-progressive agenda across Europe.