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Delfi Answers


1. Why should voters vote for you?

The most important reason people should vote for me is to guarantee Estonia's security.Estonia needs friends. Military security must come from NATO, from the USA, my country the UK and even from France. The EU is weak on this.

Since I am from the West, there will be a lot of media interest in me. I am already in the international media, the BBC,  Al Jazeera, the Economist. If I am elected, I will able to galvanise the media and the general public in the rest of Europe and the World especially the Anglosphere to take an interest in what is happening in Estonia, to support Estonia, and to defend it in a way that other candidates can't.

Eventually the issue will move beyond me as an unusual politician, and to the bigger issue of European integration and the European dream.

2. Name theme(s) which you plan to be active in the European Parliament and the reason for this choice.
The theme that concerns me most is a decent living salary for everybody.

I don't just mean the many women who are in low paid jobs, I also want to stick up for the 40 per cent of men who are struggling to get by. It is difficult for men to admit when they are not are successful as they would like to be, or when they are not rewarded for doing difficult jobs, or when they can't find a job.

I have been in this situation myself so I know how it feels. I am teacher, so I am an ordinary person. My concern is police officers, prison officers, fireman, teachers, nurses all these people who struggle to get by.

We need to raise the minimum wage across Europe because it will have a domino effect raising wages across the board and we need to strengthen ties with Trade Unions in other European countries, because employers will pay low wages if they can get away with it.

I will fight against big corporations trying to use EU rules to get round national laws. The Trans-Atlantic Trade Investment Protocol, in its current form, is an example of this. If what is been suggested at the moment goes through, big American corporation will be able to sue entire countries for lost profits. Estonia and other European countries should have a veto on whether they will allow regulation that apply in the US to automatically apply in Estonia.

I will fight to make sure that Europe grants money is not spent on fly-by-night foreign businesses coming from outside Estonia who won't stay in the country anyway. Money should be spent on local people and local communities.

But much of my work will be outside of the European Parliament. I will use my position in the international media to spread the message that Estonia is a great country with a great future. A good place to invest, raise a family, study or even retire.


3. Which subject or area is the European Union dealing with now which in your opinion it shouldn't actually be concerned with.

I think the whole furore over same sex marriage is a giant red herring. There are more important things to worry about, at both a national level and international level.

4. Would you as a Member of the European Parliament support a proposal to freeze temporarily CO2 quotas emissions or raise the value of quota? How would you vote is such a plan would raise electricity prices in Estonia?

Look, if bills go down in Estonia this is always a good outcome. We should think about ordinary people what they can afford to spend. A lot of old people suffer because of high energy bills.

5. The situation in Ukraine has shown that the European Union can't influence relationships with Russia by applying sanctions. In what way must the European Union deal with Russia.

As I wrote above it is quite clear that in terms of defence, Estonia should look to NATO and the Anglosphere countries not to Europe. Europe lacks strong leadership, that is its central problem. In the long run I truly believe leadership can come from my own country, Britain, but first there has to be a sea change in the way British people view Europe, That is a difficult task, it will take at least a decade.

On the question of sanctions it is too early to say that sanctions won't be effective. Sanctions are a slow cure not a quick fix.

I don't thing Russian troops are going to march into Narva, but there is a real danger. That danger is the rest of Europe, and the World, will come to view the entire region as unstable. 
Estonia will lose investment and ultimately people and slowly and surely come under Russian influence.

It will be my task to try to stop this from happening by sending out a positive message about Estonia.

6. Please forecast how the six places in the European Parliament will be divided between the parties and the solo candidates.I don't want to make any predictions.
 

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