The role of the Estonian language in public space

Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing

Date: 2025-06-04 15:41

Participating Politicians:

Total Speeches: 11

Membership: 15

Agenda Duration: 12m

AI Summaries: 11/11 Speeches (100.0%)

Analysis: Structured Analysis

Politicians Speaking Time

Politicians

Analysis

Summary

The Riigikogu's fourth question addressed the role of the Estonian language in public spaces and its position in society. The question was posed by Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) to the Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, and concerned the influence of the Estonian language in service industries, taxi services, and platform work. The speaker raised concerns about the lack of Estonian language skills and the postponement of language requirements, emphasizing the need for implementation and strengthening of state-supported language-friendly practices. The importance of Estonian-language public spaces in the context of Flag Day was also highlighted, along with references to potential changes in language rights and usage.

Decisions Made 1
Collective Decision

No decisions were made. The language act draft is in the final coordination stage and awaits further processing in the government and the Riigikogu.

Most Active Speaker
Tõnis Lukas
Tõnis Lukas

Isamaa fraktsioon

Most active speaker: Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) – right-wing political orientation; he exclusively represents the struggle to strengthen language use and language requirements, and leads discussions about the position of the Estonian language in the public sphere.

Esimees Lauri Hussar
15:41:44
AI Summary

Chairman Lauri Hussar introduces the fourth item on the agenda—a question directed to the Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, concerning the role of the Estonian language in the public sphere. The question will be posed by Riigikogu member Tõnis Lukas.

15:41:54
AI Summary

Tõnis Lukas claims that the influence of the Estonian language in the public sphere and the service sector has diminished. He cites statistics showing that approximately 80,000 employees either do not possess the necessary language skills or lack them entirely, and that language requirements are not being met in 20,000 of those nationally regulated workplaces. He accuses the government of postponing the implementation of language requirements and failing to produce a draft language law, requesting an overview of what this draft law would actually entail for the Riigikogu.

Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
15:43:57
AI Summary

The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, announced that the final round of coordination for the Language Act has concluded, and the main points are: Estonian as the working language in councils and committees; increasing coercive fines and penalties for the lack of Estonian language proficiency; prohibiting the dubbing of adult films into foreign languages and requiring Estonian subtitles for films shown in their original language; establishing the status of South Estonian languages in school legislation as an important language of instruction; and while language proficiency issues among platform workers are minor, there are more complaints in the service sector, where stricter penalties are required.

Esimees Lauri Hussar
15:46:39
AI Summary

Chairman Hussar thanks [the previous speaker/the body] and asks Tõnis Lukas to pose a clarifying question.

15:46:41
AI Summary

He argues that Estonia is in critical need of stronger Estonian-language services and adult language training, because otherwise, English and Russian could become more widely used, putting the official state language under pressure.

Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
15:48:53
AI Summary

Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas stated that the position of the Estonian language has significantly strengthened both within Estonia and internationally. She noted that a large portion of administrative work—across state, local government, the private sector, and the European Union level—is conducted in Estonian, which, combined with the development of education and science and the adaptability of newcomers, serves to strengthen society.

Esimees Lauri Hussar
15:51:18
AI Summary

Chairman Lauri Hussar thanked the previous speaker and announced that colleague Kalle Grünthal would be asking the supplementary question.

Kalle Grünthal
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmed
15:51:21
AI Summary

Kalle Grünthal refutes the minister’s claim regarding the scarcity of complaints, emphasizes the serious problem of platform service providers violating language proficiency requirements, and asks how many complaints from platform clients and Language Inspectorate proceedings concerning language usage violations have been received.

Esimees Lauri Hussar
15:53:20
AI Summary

Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks Madam Minister and submits a request.

Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
15:53:22
AI Summary

Kristina Kallas said that she cannot provide the figures today, and those must be requested from the Language Inspectorate. If you wish, she can elaborate in writing, but the proportion of platform work among the complaints regarding violations of the Language Act was marginal, and most complaints concerned the service sector, where Estonian-language service was lacking.

Esimees Lauri Hussar
15:54:33
AI Summary

Chairman Lauri Hussar offers his thanks and announces that today's fourth question has been fully discussed.