Estonia's primary interest lies in who will become the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, given current Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) has repeatedly been linked with the job in media reports, primarily by POLITICO.

The high representative post becomes vacant when Josep Borrell's term ends later this year, and the candidate is selected by a majority vote at the European Council, in consultation with the President of the European Commission.

Voting on this and other high-level positions cannot be concluded however until the next commission president – most likely Germany's Ursula von der Leyen will continue in the post – has been confirmed.

When asked if she plans to take on the role of the EU's high foreign policy representative, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported that Kallas sighed, saying: "We have so many other issues to resolve ahead of that – the budget, everything else, our table is full."

"I will continue my work as prime minister for as long as I am in this role. And I do it with full dedication," the prime minister went on.

While EU member states, Estonia included, do not officially nominate candidates, they play a significant role in negotiating high-level appointments. The Estonian government has to propose a suitable candidate profile for this purpose, and in Estonia's case, that profile would include a strong stance on Russia.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said: "This person must have a deep understanding of security policy, understand the threat from Russia, which is what we specified."

"I will say it outright, the best candidate would be Kaja Kallas, but we couldn't write Kaja Kallas' name down because the processes are entirely different," he went on.

Member states can have more input on candidates via their European representatives' factions – MEPs must sit with a political group such as the EPP, S&D or Renew.

These groups work on this with member states' domestic governments and the European Council, to present their positions and preferences for candidates.

Interior Minister and Social Democratic Party (SDE) chair Lauri Läänemets told AK: "The Social Democrats also have their proposals, which will be presented."

"If SDE's candidate is supported for a position, negotiations can go ahead. But these decisions are made at the European level," Läänemets continued, but would not be drawn on whether his party has yet made any proposals. "It's too early to say because the faction has not yet convened."

The European Council meeting where the appointments are expected to be made is scheduled for June 27.

Ahead of that, on June 25, the Secretary of the Council of Europe, an entirely separate body which deals mainly with human rights issues, will be elected. Estonia has nominated Indrek Saar to this post.

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