The Centre Party's council decided at a meeting held in Paide to start negotiations with the ECR. ECR is the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
Erki Savisaar, the chairman of the Centre Party, says that the party left ALDE in 2024. ALDE is the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. He says that there was too much pressure in domestic politics.
Savisaar said that the party has been discussing for a year and a half which European party it has more in common with. He said that there is no purely centrist party in Europe. The choice is practical.
Savisaar added that the Centre Party and the ECR agree on important issues. Both see the European Union as a strong economic and security union.
He spoke about the importance of national sovereignty, the rule of law, and low taxes. He said that excessive bureaucracy needs to be reduced. Workers' rights should not suffer.
Savisaar also spoke about environmental protection and innovation. He said that the green transition has harmed the European economy and energy security.
The ECR is the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament. Centre Party member Jaak Madison belongs to it. Another Centre Party member, Jana Toom, continues in the Renew Europe group.
Jana Toom later announced that she will not join the ECR. She wrote on social media that it was the wrong decision.