Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) at the government's weekly press conference on Thursday that the act needs to be modernized to reflect today's society and labor market needs.

This includes specifying which groups need opt-outs from Estonian language proficiency requirements, banning the screening of foreign-language dubbed films – with an exception made for children's movies, and setting a price for taking the Estonian language exam multiple times.

"The bill also sends a clear message that language requirements must be met. We need to be more demanding together with employers so that in the future, we'll still be able to conduct all aspects of life in Estonian," Kallas said.

"In today's tech-rich world, there are many smart tools that help with learning Estonian and translating when necessary," the minister added.

The bill will clarify the group of individuals to whom the language proficiency requirements do not apply in the first five years.

The current terms "foreign specialist" and "foreign expert" will be replaced with "top specialist," and in addition to academic staff, the exemption will apply to foreign teachers who arrive temporarily and teach in a foreign language or under international curricula.

Using the Estonian language will be required in all institutions providing public sector services, including local government bodies and public legal institutions.

This means the changes will also apply to the work and internal proceedings of, for example, rural and city council committees, which must now be conducted in Estonian.

"Until now, the requirement for Estonian-language proceedings only applied to documentation, but under the current draft amendments to the Language Act, it is also required that council committee meetings be held in Estonian and that internal discussions be conducted in Estonian," said Kallas.

The bill also strengthens enforcement measures and raises the maximum coercive fine to €9,600 for legal entities and €1,280 for individuals. The fine rates for legal entities will also be increased, as they have not been adjusted in the past 10 years.

To make the Estonian language proficiency exams more effective, a state fee will be introduced for those taking the same level test more than twice.

There will also be more requirements for foreign films. "We're bringing order to the language use of films shown in cinemas. According to the Language Act, the screening of films dubbed into a foreign language is only permitted for children. Films for adults must have subtitles and be shown in the original language without dubbing," the minister said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!