"I'm going to Columbia University in New York," Simson told the newspaper Õhtuleht.

"[Former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential candidate] Hillary Clinton has set up a fellowship program with Columbia University, and at her invitation, I will be participating in academic work there. /---/ This is not a doctoral program, it is my contribution to the academic atmosphere there," she explained.

Simson will share the knowledge she has gained over the past five years as a commissioner.

"On the one hand, I will be a mentor for students who are interested in how things are done in Europe. On the other hand, I also have a great opportunity to get involved in faculty projects, and since we all know what's going on in the US right now, probably all the attention – about 90 percent of it – will still be on the US transition to a Republican administration. But I'm also being asked to shed some light on what to expect from the new European Commission and why things are going the way they are," Simson told the paper.

When asked if she plans to return to Estonian politics, she answered: "I do not know if my future life in Estonia will have anything to do with Estonian politics."

Simson started working in Brussels in 2019 and since then her political home – the Center Party – has undergone big changes. Many members she was aligned with, such as former Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, have left and joined other parties, mostly Isamaa and SDE.

Simson said she does not like the current line of Eurosceptic politics pursued by Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart and former EKRE member Jaak Madison, who joined the part in the summer.

She also said she had received offers from other political parties.

Simson joined the Estonian Central Party in 1995. She has held the positions of secretary general, vice-chairman, minister of economy and infrastructure, EU commissioner and was a member of four different parliaments.

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