Estonia's political parties out canvassing ahead of June's EU elections

With just over a month until the elections to the European Parliament elections, campaigning season is fully underway, and Estonia's political parties have been presenting their platforms to the public.
"Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) on Sunday visited Stroomi rand, a beach in North Tallinn, where many of the major political parties had set up their campaigning tents, with the aim at informing voters about their positions.
Pamphlets and flyers were available from the canvassing parties, alongside the usual goodies.
In many cases, security and the economy are the most crucial issues in the parties' platforms, AK found.
Reform Party MP Yoko Alender told AK Europe's economic future depends on its security, meaning enlarging the defense and related industries is paramount.
Alender said "As a frontier country on the eastern flank, Estonia has perhaps suffered the most."
"As a result, we propose ensuring favorable loan conditions for businesses in these frontier countries, in cooperation with the Nordic Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development," Alender, Reform's program coordinator, went on.
For opposition party Isamaa, regional focus is central to economic policy.
This consideration should apply to sectors such as agriculture and energy, and across Europe.
Riho Terras, the party's sole MEP, seeking re-election, told AK: "It is crucial to restore Estonia's economy."
"However, our economy is suffering, not only due to a standstill in Europe but also because our government is sending out the wrong signals. Our economic growth has been in the negative for months and years, yet the government is doing nothing about that," Terras, a former defense forces chief, went on.
The Social Democrats (SDE), in coalition with Reform and Eesti 200 at home, stressed improving EU competitiveness and slashing bureaucratic red tape.
Marina Kaljurand, one of the party's two current MEPs and who is also running this time, said: "While we have a single market in a formal sense, businesses are finding it very difficult to set up in another country, due to significant bureaucratic barriers."
"Addressing bureaucracy within the EU is surely needed," Kaljurand continued.
Several other parties' also in their manifestos mention the need to reduce bureaucracy and to develop e-services, AK reported.
Eesti 200 states that Europe must become a region brimming with talent, and so supporting the immigration of skilled labor and what it calls educational mobility.
Eesti 200 is chasing its first ever MEP seat at next month's election.
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), also in opposition, calls for curbing the influence of big corporations, who it says drain money from member states and bring in immigrant labor.
The Center Party, in opposition both nationally and, now, in Tallinn, states in its platform that it supports pan-EU economic measures which would reduce inequalities.
The party also advocates taxing excessive profits of large corporations during crises times.
Parempoolsed meanwhile says that in addition to being an economic union, the EU should also function as a unified value space. The party was founded in 2022 and is contesting its second-ever election.
Polling day for the European elections in Estonia is Sunday, June 6, preceded by a week's advance voting period.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Anne Raiste.










