The Estonian Green Party submitted the full, nine-candidate list for the European elections taking place June 9, but only paid the €4,100 deposit for two of them: Rasmus Lahtvee, and party leader Evelyn Sepp.

The State Electoral Committee (VVK) had not registered the remaining seven candidates as a result of the unpaid deposits.

These were: Riin Ehin, Liina Freivald, Marko Kaasik, Kaia Konsap, Tuula Raidna, Olev-Andres Tinn and Alina Lerner-Vilu.

The Greens say the sum required when paying a deposit requirement disproportionately infringes upon a candidates' electoral right.

The party appealed to the Supreme Court, requesting that the European Parliament Election Act be declared unconstitutional and that the VVK be required to add in the unregistered candidates.

The Supreme Court's Constitutional Review Chamber has found it necessary to request a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice, on how to interpret the relevant EU law regulating European Parliament elections.

As a result, the Supreme Court has suspended the Estonian Green Party's complaint proceedings via a ruling issued on Tuesday, until that European court decision enters into effect.

The Supreme Court stated that the party's complaint is not without merit, as the deposit required for European Parliament elections in Estonia is one of the highest in Europe.

The court said it sees no public interest or rights of other individuals which in this case outweigh the need to provide the plaintiff with interim legal protection.

Since the Supreme Court lacks information on whether all the unregistered candidates meet the other statutory requirements, the chamber requires the VVK to rethink its decision on registering the candidates for the European Parliament elections.

Should the candidates meet the other requirements, they must be registered regardless of the fact that the Estonian Green Party has not paid the deposit to the amount specified by law, the court ruled.

The deposit for participation in the European Parliament elections is €4,100 per candidate this time, up from €2,700 at the last European elections in 2019.

Registering a full list of nine candidates – the maximum number permitted under Estonia's electoral regulations – comes to €36,900, for all parties.

Independent candidates would also have to pay the same sum ie. €4,100 to run.

This deposit is refunded to those parties and independents who poll at at least 5 percent of the votes nationwide – Estonia is treated as a single electoral district at European elections in any case.

Independent candidates therefore need to reach the 5 percent threshold off their own bat, to retain their deposit, whereas parties pool the votes of all nine candidates running.

Deposits which are lost, ie. with those candidates or parties who do not meet 5 percent of the vote, are returned to the VVK and in turn, into state coffers.

The €4,100 sum is calculated based on multiplying the current monthly minimum wage by five.