Toom said during a meeting with a predominantly Russian-speaking crowd in Sillamäe that Russian agents are being hunted in the European Parliament. "The European Parliament is looking for Russian spies," the Estonian MEP said, adding that relevant efforts took off after Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka's contacts with Russian special services came to light.

"One needs to be very careful there now, because once you are branded as a Russian agent, you can say whatever you want, it won't matter because no one will listen to you," Toom said.

She said that Russians are feared everywhere in Europe because of Russia's war of aggression.

"And they're right to be afraid! They should be even more afraid!" an older lady shouted from the audience.

Jana Toom then tried to explain that yelling and sowing fear will achieve nothing. "What is that going to achieve? Imagine Estonian journalists sitting quietly in this room, and that there will be headlines in Delfi tomorrow on how Russians need to be feared! We need to make sure we are not feared and operate within the confines of the law," Toom noted.

Asked whether the European Parliament can stop Estonia from stripping Russian and Belarusian citizens of their right to vote in local elections in Estonia, the MEP said that no reaction should be expected. "It is seen as a security matter. If the Estonians can prove it is a threat to national security, it will constitute extraordinary circumstances," she said.

Toom also said she is against how the switch to teaching in Estonian is being handled. "We understand that the ship of Russian school has sailed. Efforts to retain it should have started sooner. But the transition needs to be humane and happen gradually."

According to Toom, the reform is unjust toward teachers who do not speak Estonian if they will be let go without compensation for failure to speak the official language. "We will help them and take the matter to court," she said.

Jana Toom is the last name on the Center Party's European Parliament elections candidates list, while she is the most likely to land a mandate for the party based on entry polls and past elections.

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