Taking part were: Kristina Kallas(Eesti 200), Tanel Kiik (SDE), Marko Mihkelson (Reform), Anti Poolamets (EKRE), Ilmar Raag (Parempoolsed), Riina Solman (Isamaa) and Jana Toom (Center).

Of these, one, Toom, is a sitting MEP.

Should the EU relax conditions for Ukraine's admission was also a lead question during the broadcast.

In a straw poll, Solman and Raag responded in the affirmative, whereas the remaining politicians answered in the negative.

Raag said that, in Parempoolsed's opinion, Ukraine should become an EU member state via an expedited process, though the country must still carry out necessary reforms on key issues beforehand.

Solman, a former minister, concurred, adding that Ukraine must meet all required conditions, but called for an understanding of Ukraine's current situation.

"Isamaa is not opposed to expansion, but we expect all joiners to meet the conditions. As for Ukraine, there's the issue that we need to help them get their economy back on its feet," she said.

Mihkelson, who chairs the Riigikogu's foreign affairs committee, however, said that Ukraine should not receive any special treatment during the accession.

Ukraine should join NATO rapidly, Mihkelson said, but when it comes to the EU, it is crucial that Ukraine also meet the principles and standards expected of all those who accede. Ukraine has a long way to on this, he said.

Estonia joined both blocs 20 years ago this month.

Anti Poolamets said that Ukraine must first look to NATO and then to the EU. "Two-thirds of our legislation comes from the EU," he said.

"Whether they want this too is up to Ukraine. In my opinion, it would be smarter for them to stay out of the union altogether because of the green transition. They should instead join NATO only, and think carefully about whether the EU is really the direction they want to head in," Poolamets went on.

Jana Toom remarked that the EU has uniform rules which must be adhered to. Each major enlargement brings about social inequalities which must be addressed each time, she said. "Calculations have been made that if Ukraine were to join tomorrow, we [in Estonia] would move from net recipients to net contributors, while EU agricultural subsidies would fall by 20 percent."

Tanel Kiik said that an exception should not be made solely for Ukraine, as exceptions in actuality tend to recur. He stressed that it is in both the EU's and Ukraine's interests for that country to meet all the criteria for accession.

Kristina Kallas said that much depends on this year's European Parliament elections, when it comes to Ukraine's future, plus how soon they might emerge victorious from the current war. "These elections are crucial for us to respond to the question of how long Ukraine must continue to suffer as a result of Europe not being strong and united enough behind them, and not supporting Ukraine strongly enough."

Raag said that the EU must not give unrealistic hopes to any countries awaiting accession. "We have seen in previous rounds of enlargement how hope is given and then, for various reasons, member states start to drag their feet, and it goes so far that countries lose hope and trust in the EU."

"It is clear that ultimately, all countries must be equal before the law, but the EU had also dealt intensively with us during Estonia's accession process, helping to adopt legislation, something which has not been done for some other countries. Our view is that we need to do this with Ukraine," Raag went on.

Solman conceded that the accession of Ukraine and neighboring Moldova would reduce gray zones in Europe, and serve to enhance European security.

Mihkelson argued that it is in Ukraine's interest to already be complying with EU rules by the time of accession. He added that Ukraine's situation is also a unique one.

He said: "We must not forget that this is not a normal situation. When we joined, it took about ten years, which is typical, to be in the accession process for an average of ten years. The first task related to Ukraine for those going to work in the European Parliament is to do everything to ensure that the war is won by Ukraine. Without that, it's not possible to talk about it becoming an EU member state in the near future."

Kiik stated that Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU would not bring the current war to an end, as support and assistance for Ukraine varies between member states. "When talking about Ukraine's military aid, more cooperation from the EU, input from the U.S., and an increase in unilateral contributions from EU member states are needed."

"Estonia is at the forefront in this, while many other countries are far behind. We should not create the illusion that if Ukraine could somehow quickly join the EU, it would help end the war. No. The foundations for ending the war lie elsewhere, and security guarantees are in NATO."

Kallas acknowledged that most likely no candidate is opposed to Ukraine's fast-track accession to the EU if it benefits Estonia's security and economy, but the fundamental principles of the union should not be dismissed, as otherwise, the union will not maintain its integrity.

Would losing unanimity in security and foreign policy decision-making be in Estonia's interests?

To this question, Solman, Mihkelson, Poolamets, Kiik, and Kallas all responded negatively; Toom and Raag did not give a direct answer.

Toom said that, in principle, it would indeed be in Estonia's interests, as currently finding consensus among 27 member states takes up a tremendous amount of time and might be considered in a complex security situation. However, she noted that there is no consensus on this issue.

Raag argued that it is actually viable to counter individual dissenters under the current regulations, citing Hungary's opposition to voting on aid for Ukraine.

He said: "What I have seen in the context of Ukraine votes is that one country can take the rest of the EU hostage during a crisis and this does not work. Could this happen to us?"

"Imagine that you're always pushing your own agenda in a union, then one day you realize that people no longer want to talk to you and reach a compromise. I think losing consensus would not play a very important role for Estonia," Raag went on.

Raag noted that politics takes place on the basis of coalition and consensus, and if that's no longer possible, then perhaps the country is in the wrong union.

"If we suddenly can't achieve our vision when up against major CEE or Northern European states, it shows that the problem isn't worth it, or that we have our own Viktor Orban coming to the forefront," Raag said.

"In that case, I also think that if Estonia sees that this choice is impossible for it, then maybe it should quit the union. But until then, I think we can always make compromises," he added.

Toom said: "The alternative to the unanimity principle in the EU is a qualified majority, which means 15 member states representing 65 percent of the population, and here I agree with Ilmar Raag that if we are not capable of finding allies, then we are in the wrong place."

Kiik said that in general, he does not support losing the unanimity principle.

"I think it would be in Estonia's interest for the EU to maintain the requirement for unanimity in these critical issues. But if we see that a country creates a situation where the European decision-making process is frozen, then if you ask whether it is in Estonia's interest to rather vote and move forward in such situations, then of course it is. I hope we do not reach the point of losing unanimity, but the debate should not be excluded," Kiik said.

According to Poolamets, losing the unanimity requirement in foreign and security policy would mean a diminishing if member states' sovereignty.

"We are already not independent in the EU, two thirds of the legislation comes from the central authority as collective decisions. If we give away foreign policy and tax policy (tax policy decisions also require consensus in the EU - ed.) as Germany and France want, then it's all over," Poolamets went on.

"What country are we talking about? Do we want to become a local government or do we want to be a nation? Selling the country under the guise of bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo is unacceptable," he added.

Solman said that although Hungary's opposition in several issues has been a challenge for the EU, all negotiations with Hungary have ultimately borne fruit, and consensus has been achieved.

Solman said: "This has been a challenge, yes, but the EU must remain a union of nation-states, while we must not move towards a federalized Europe. In this sense, Poolamets is not the only dissenter here – we also do not support amending the treaties, as this limits the competencies of smaller countries."

According to Kristina Kallas, consensus democracy is one of the best forms of democracy. "It forces all parties to agree on values. The EU is largely a values-based union and if we start giving up on achieving consensus agreements on values, then I think that's a big risk that none of us wants to go."

"In those consensus democracies, if Estonia were to put itself in a situation where it is alone in its foreign and security policy issues, then it is a very high-risk situation for Estonia, so we should not support changing this consensus democracy based on that. Estonia's security guarantee is that there is consensus democracy in the EU in these issues."

Kallas added that coalition-building techniques should not be used in decision-making in foreign and security policy.

"Then the horse-trading starts. This is the wrong way to implement such a voting mechanism in foreign and security policy. We must stick to unanimity there. Even with Hungary, endless negotiations must be held to get them on board. If not, then the question ultimately is Hungary's withdrawal, not that we give up this consensus voting and unanimity. This is a very slippery slope for Estonian foreign and security policy if we have to start looking for allies to organize our country's defense with European help, and we have no assurance of getting unanimous support in Europe," Kallas, current education minister, continued.

Mihkelson said that losing unanimity could be discussed, for example, in the issue of implementing sanctions, as the EU has not been forceful enough in imposing restrictive measures against Russia, mainly due to Hungary's opposition. The principle of unanimity is important in issues such as how the EU sees the end of the war in Ukraine.

He said: "The EU's major powers see this differently from us right now. If we were to go to EU-level policy-making and give the main say to the major powers, then in that regard, we would definitely negatively affect our security policy choices. And since security policy and foreign policy in Estonia have traditionally been consensus politics, we seek the same at the EU level."

Mihkelson argued that it is better to shape policy when there is consensus in foreign and security issues.

Do you support a Europe-wide quota mechanism for redistributing refugees?

Jana Toom was the only candidate to answer this question in the affirmative. Toom justified doing so by saying that she had already voted in the European Parliament in favor of the migration compact, which provides countries with different options for contributing to the redistribution of refugees.

"There is a quota of 30,000 people for the EU, which has half a billion inhabitants. I supported that figure. There are generally four ways to show solidarity, and redistribution is one of those. I understand that Estonia would not choose that. I'm talking about this specific thing that was already voted on. /.../ Whether we take on some administrative burden ourselves or give money or medical aid, those options are completely available and it assumes that we do not take on additional refugees. But 30,000 for the EU is peanuts," she said.

Toom said that EU migration policy is currently like putting out a fire, which needs to be dealt with. "We must have a much more united and much more effective foreign policy, which is not possible because we are always seeking consensus. So we are actually trapped. We need to get out of it. We discuss this as if there is no tomorrow. We are talking about a five to 10-year perspective, looking forward, we need to be much more united."

Kiik said that social democrats do not support mandatory refugee redistribution, but other mechanisms in the migration pact. "What the European Parliament supported, there were mechanisms, as Jana explained, various ways to show solidarity, which are also in Estonia's interests. Whether it's Ukrainian war refugees, other refugees. Whether countries contribute financially or accept refugees, that must be decided by the country," he said.

According to Kiik, the most important thing, however, is that the EU's external border holds.

According to Raag, Parempoolsed distinguish between different types of migration. "When we talk about irregular or illegal migration, where people try to cross the border in violation of the laws, we are probably the most demanding in our requirements that this must be clearly limited. On the other hand, if people want to come here who bring money and do not bring new costs to the taxpayer, then it is obvious that we need a workforce here, especially an influx of high-tech talents. However, we see that we would not want to bring blue-collar labor to Estonia, but rather we would consider them seasonal workers," he explained.

Mihkelson also emphasized that the new migration package in the EU does not impose a mandatory quota system on member states, but solidarity can be shown in other ways as well. He added that the EU has also reached a consensus on how to better protect its external border after the great migration crisis of 2015.

He acknowledged that the migration issue will accompany Europe for a long time to come and the next European Parliament session must focus on how to implement what has already been agreed upon.

Solman also pointed out that the migration package addresses, among other things, hybrid threats and the use of migrants as weapons, as well as the possibility of speeding up the procedures for sending people back. Solman noted that the mandatory quota mechanism is bad, but the quota system is currently well placed.

Eesti 200 does not agree with refugee quotas for member states, Kristina Kallas said. "We know from 2015, when there was a refugee crisis and when those quotas were set and member states actually acted according to those quotas. What actually happened was that the people who were supposedly taken to Estonia according to the quota, they did not stay here in the end," the minister said.

"Since there is free movement within the EU, a large part of these people relocate anyway to where it is actually more beneficial and comfortable for them, where they have a significantly easier opportunity to integrate. In that sense, the quota calms down the member states for a moment as if there is solidarity, but in reality, that solidarity does not actually arise and there are still member states that are under much greater pressure than others," Kallas continued.

Kallas added that ultimately it is still up to the countries to decide who is allowed into the country and under what conditions migration policy is shaped. "There are a few things that the EU regulates jointly, asylum policy is one of them and there it really requires a much greater force from the EU because asylum policy has now actually become a weapon of war, really a weapon of war, which our neighboring countries use and unfortunately that neighboring country, which is our neighbor, uses it. For this reason, it is absolutely in Estonia's interests that asylum policy is understood not only in terms of fundamental rights, which are also very important, but in terms of it actually being a weapon of war and that more money and financial resources for implementing asylum policy in the EU and for protecting the external borders are vitally important," she said.

According to Poolamets, Western Europe should take a cue in immigration policy from the U.K.'s deporting asylum seekers to the central African nation of Rwanda, following an agreement with the latter state.

In his view, Western Europe, with its aging society, is exploiting, for example, Ukrainians fleeing the war.

"Just recently, the secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior told us at the municipalities and cities union day that Ukrainians are staying here, all those 100,000, and bringing family members here as well. Imagine what this means for Ukraine, if, for example, all those four million who have gone to Europe do not return home after the war ends."

"Actually, Western Europe with its fertility problem is swallowing these people, it actually wants to snatch them from Ukraine, steal them for itself. If we really want Ukraine to do well, then we help those people return home after the war. Not that 100,000 come in and we really hijack these people. That's not how things work. And Islamic immigration is what will soon devastate all of Western Europe," Poolamets continued.

Tanel Kiik said in response: "Actually, the same migration agreement that was narrowly but firmly approved in the European Parliament is really pushing in this direction, so it's a bit surprising for me the conservatives' opposition, because the existing rules were actually worse."

Kiik refuted Poolamets' claims about 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. "Firstly, we have 40,000 temporary protection seekers, naturally more have crossed the border, but many have also returned, and in no way should we charge EU countries with snatching up these refugees; no, the EU states want and strive to first help Ukraine win the war. Then actually to rebuild that country, so that it would also be possible for people to return," he said.

Riina Solman also said that the eventual goal is for Ukrainians to be able to return to their homeland, but currently, they have nowhere to go. "Many no longer have homes left and what the EU actually does not do, and here I am critical of the EU, is that we do too little to help Ukraine; too little, and too slowly."

All the above politicians are candidates at the June 9 European election in Estonia, vying for seven seats.

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