Topping the candidate list approved Sunday afternoon is incumbent Reform MEP Urmas Paet, with the top three rounded out by Yoko Alender and the recently joined Luukas Kristjan Ilves. Also on the candidate list are Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Marko Mihkelson, Hanah Lahe, Karmen Joller, Maarja Metstak and Hanno Pevkur.

The party council also approved the party's election campaign platform for the European Parliament elections taking place this June.

Reform's campaign platform is titled "Our Europe. Our security. Our freedom. Our opportunity." ("Meie Euroopa. Meie julgeolek. Meie vabadus. Meie võimalus.") and according to Yoko Alender, who led the compilation of the platform, the most important issue of these elections is security.

"Europe's contribution to defense must grow," Alender said. "In order to ensure a unified and strong defense policy, we are calling for the creation of the post of defense commissioner, and propose issuing €100 billion in Eurobonds for defense industry use in order to strengthen the European defense industry."

Alender added that the EU must continue providing Ukraine with continuous military aid through Ukraine's victory [in Russia's ongoing war against them], as well as help Ukraine restore and reconstruct the country.

"Russian assets confiscated by the EU must be used for the benefit of Ukraine," she said. "All of the acts of genocide and war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine must likewise be brought to international justice."

Likewise cited as a key issue by Alender was the green reform.

"The green reform is essentially an economic reform," she explained. "This is Europe's chance to be at the forefront of development, alongside the world's major players – in addition to protecting our nature and living environment for future generations."

Further noted in the party's platform is that reducing regulations and liberalizing the economy are a prerequisite for increasing Europe's strategic freedom as well as the welfare of its society.

Kaja Kallas: Without security, remaining issues become theoretical

In her speech at the general assembly, Reform Party chair and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the current situation in Europe and the broader world has once again brought the issue of Europe's self-defense capability to the fore, and this will be a key issue for the European Parliament as well.

"I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that the European Parliament has never been elected at a more complex and difficult time for Europe than now," Kallas said. "And never have the personal qualities of the people Estonia sends to the European Parliament been more important than in these elections."

Not just because Europe is facing the biggest crisis since the end of World War II, she continued, but also because Estonia has in recent years achieved a degree of visibility and an audience the likes of which it has never had before.

"Not only are our views taken into consideration, but our views have on many issues been indicative and set the tone," the prime minister highlighted. "We cannot either give away or abuse this position."

Reform's election campaign platform places a great emphasis, of course, on security, Kallas noted.

"This is an existential matter for us – without security, the rest of these issues become just theoretical discussions," she said.

Reform currently holds two of Estonia's seven seats in the European Parliament, where it is represented by MEPs Andrus Ansip and Urmas Paet. Ansip announced his withdrawal from the upcoming elections in late March.

The board of the Reform Party submitted its candidate list for the upcoming elections to the general assembly on Thursday.

The European Parliament elections will take place from June 3-9.

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