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Estonia · Law · SE

825

Law on Amendments to the Defense Service Act (language requirement for military service)

avaldatud riigiteatajasEstonia· Riigikogu· ET

Introduced

16 February 2026

Last action

13 May 2026 · Accepted

Status

AVALDATUD_RIIGITEATAJAS

Sponsors

Peeter Tali, Riigikaitsekomisjon

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

13 May 2026

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Summary

Based on the bill, all conscripts must know the Estonian language at least at the B1 level from the beginning of 2027. If the professional has not been educated in Estonian or his language skills cannot be identified based on the databases, he must take a B1 language level exam. The draft stipulates that if a professional does not pass the B1 level exam, he must pass the Integration Foundation within one year organized language course and take the exam again. The state pays for the first language course. In case of failure to appear for the level exam or failure to participate in language courses without a valid reason, the Defense Resources Board is provided with the right to apply administrative coercive measures against the professional according to the Defense Forces Service Act. The requirement stipulated in the bill is necessary to minimize life-threatening situations that may arise due to lack of language skills, because below B1 level a conscript with Estonian language skills cannot acquire information related to the safety of weapons, ammunition or explosives. The practice so far has shown that a conscript with poor language skills may not really acquire all the material important for military training, but some of it may remain at the level of mechanical memorization without real understanding. A conscript with poor language skills may not understand the instructions necessary for a soldier to survive and commands.

Machine translation from Estonian. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

  1. 16 February 2026

    AVALDATUD_RIIGITEATAJAS

    Source: SE

  2. 13 May 2026

    Accepted

Votes

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Versions

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Documents

18 official files

Lõpptekst asice

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Sponsors

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Sources

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