According to Ott, the party's regional branches and departments should submit their proposals by the last week of March. After that, he matter will be discussed by the executive board, which will also approve the final list. "Probably at the end of March or the beginning of April, these discussions ought to be held and the lists confirmed," Ott said.

The regional branches will start submitting their nominations in the next two weeks.

Vadim Belobrovtsev, a member of Center's executive board and a deputy mayor of Tallinn, said the party had so far identified around 20 names that could potentially become candidates for the electoral list. Belobrovtsev himself has not yet decided on his favored candidate.

Ott said it was unlikely that the Center Party will be able to win more than two seats in the elections.

ERR asked Ott about the impact on Center's list, of several recent high-profile departures from the party.

At the beginning of January, Tanel Kiik, Jaak Aab, Andre Hanimägi, Ester Karuse, Enn Eesmaa and Kersti Sarapuu, who were all members of Center's Riigikogu group, opted to leave the party.

They were followed at the end of January by former party chair and Estonian PM Jüri Ratas, who joined Isamaa. Jaanus Karilaid and Tõnis Mölder also made the same move, while Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski went to the Reform Party.

According to Ott however, this has not caused Center any difficulties in putting together its list for the European Parliament elections.

"I wouldn't equate the two. How strong the list would have been before and how strong it is now, we can speculate, but we will never know. I think there are very strong people in the Center Party, really strong politicians who speak to our voters. And here, I am sure that the family split we have had has actually added to the strength and will to contribute. It is precisely those [left] who are prepared to work on behalf of the party, and I believe that the party has not lost out in this respect," Ott replied.

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson has remained in the Center Party, though also announced that she will not be running in the European elections.

"All the top politicians that the Center Party has are very important in terms of standing for election and Kadri Simson is a well-known politician, who is currently in a very high position in Europe. I think everyone understands that if Kadri doesn't stand, the job will have to be done by the good people we have in the party," Ott said.

Potential candidates are in the public eye every day

ERR also asked Ott to name who might potentially be on the Center Party's European Parliament list.

"I think these people are actually in front of the public on a daily basis. And we know the members of our group as well as the leadership. They are the same people. There are no others on the sidelines. Those who are leaders of the regions, those who are in the Riigikogu group and those who are in the party leadership," Ott said.

 Andrei Korobeinik, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, Aleksei Jevgrafov, Aleksandr Tšaplõgin and Lauri Laats are the members of Center's Riigikogu group.

The party's executive board is composed of Mihhail Kõlvart, Lauri Laats, Jana Toom, Jaan Toots, Anneli Ott, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Ester Tuiksoo, Andrei Korobeinik, Erki Savisaar, Vladimir Svet, Marika Tuus-Laul, Mihkel Undrest, Gert Üprus-Tarn and Valentina Bortnovski.

ERR asked members of the Center Party about standing for election

Erki Savisaar, a member of the executive board and chair of the party's council, told ERR that he is ready to run if nominated. Savisaar also said that if he were to get elected he would definitely go to Brussels.

Narva Mayor Jaan Toots preferred not to confirm to ERR whether he would run, though he also did not rule out the possibility. "We will discuss the list and then decide," Toots said.

For Riigikogu MP Alexei Jevgrafov, ERR's question seemed to come as a surprise. "I think my position today is that I will not run. My feeling is that I would rather not run. It's too early for that, I still have a lot of work to do in Estonia," said Jevgrafov.

Lauri Laats, who was recently elected chair of Center's Riigikogu group, has not yet made a decision. "I will discuss it with my family first. There is no decision yet," Laats said.

Tallinn deputy mayor Tiit Terik said he would rather not run. "The European elections are not the elections for me at the moment. I would rather focus on my work in Estonia. As deputy mayor of Tallinn, my days are busy. It is not the time to run successfully for the European Parliament right now," said Terik.

Ester Tuiksoo, a member of the party's leadership and leader of the Põlva County branch, said that if she were to be approached about running, she would consider it.

MP Andrei Korobeinik also said he was not leaning towards running for Europe. "I have no burning desire. I am the deputy chair of the Finance Committee of the Riigikogu, and there are a lot of issues on the table," Korobeinik said.

Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, who is also a member of Center's Riigikogu group, said she had not yet made a decision, but she too is not ruling anything out at this stage.

Jana Toom will definitely stand in the European elections, Anneli Ott confirmed. Center Party Chair Mihhail Kõlvart has said he would be prepared to stand if necessary. As for Anneli Ott herself, she added that she has also not yet decided whether to stand as a candidate.

The European Parliament elections take place from June 3 to 9, with seven MEPs to be elected from Estonia.

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