The council of the Estonian Central Party decided to leave the Association of European Liberal Parties (ALDE) at the session held in Jõgeva. Below is the full text of the statement.
COUNCIL STATEMENT
14 September 2024
Jõgeva Culture Center
The Estonian Center Party leaves the ALDE party
The Estonian Central Party, as the largest and oldest political party in Estonia, has always set itself the goal of standing up for its political program at all political levels: both in local governments, the Riigikogu and the European Union.
In connection with this, year after year we have been more concerned that the pan-European grouping of liberal political parties, ALDE, to which the Center Party has been a member for the past twenty years, pursues policies in the European Union that are further and further away from the programmatic positions of the Center Party.
It is noteworthy that one of ALDE’s members is the Reform Party, whose policy in Estonia also reflects ALDE’s views. The vision of an “invisible hand” guiding the economy and a “balanced budget” has brought us to a situation where economic growth is replaced by decline and social inequality becomes a security risk.
The Center Party’s and ALDE’s vision of the future of Estonia, Europe and democracy diverges on several very fundamental issues. Especially when it comes to people’s livelihoods and the business environment.
The Center Party stated in the 2024 European Parliament election program that our main foreign and security policy goal is to protect the independence and constitutional order of the Estonian state and the growth of the nation’s prosperity. ALDE, on the other hand, supports the federalization of Europe, i.e. the concentration of power in Brussels and the reduction of the decision-making power of the member states.
The Center Party believes that the principle of unanimity should continue to apply in the decision-making process of the European Union, because this is the only way to guarantee that the interests of the Estonian people are not voted down. In its latest election manifesto, ALDE believes that the unanimity requirement should be abandoned in foreign and security policy. In our opinion, this puts the decision-making rights of the member states, including Estonia, at risk.
The Center Party believes that the electoral lists of the European Parliament should remain state-based. ALDE is fighting for union-wide voting lists, which alienates people from democracy and reduces our opportunities to have a say in the future of Estonia.
The Center Party supports an immigration policy that protects Estonian culture and demographic characteristics. ALDE supports a liberal immigration policy, including in some cases the redistribution of migrants between member states. In its Riigikogu election platforms, the Center Party has prioritized the growth of Estonia’s population and emphasized the need to pay more attention to the birth rate. The Estonian Central Party does not consider it possible to solve the immigration problem only through immigration.
The Center Party believes that the adoption of green technologies must take into account Estonia’s specificities. ALDE supports the vigorous and consistent implementation of the green revolution as planned. It does not take into account the economic possibilities of the European Union and its member states and has already led to a drop in living standards due to the sharp increase in energy prices, hitting the elderly and families with children the hardest.
Unlike the government led by the Reform Party, the Center Party is a party that stands for the well-being of Estonian people, social guarantees and security. Our goal is to be honest with our voters and to end the situation where party politics in Estonia and Europe are not based on the same basic principles.
After thorough discussions within the party, we have decided to leave ALDE in order to bring the party’s policy in Europe more in line with the programmatic positions of the Estonian Central Party, which at the same time does not rule out cooperation in overlapping positions in the future. As a result of the above, the Estonian Central Party has decided to start negotiations with the political parties of the European Union, whose programmatic positions coincide to a greater extent with our positions and the values of our party.
