Suchergebnisse

This paper gives a brief overview of the important changes that have taken place in 2007-2008 and by the beginning of 2009 and the resulting problems that have arisen in the Estonian economy (non-conformity between the increase in salaries and increase in labour efficiency, real estate boom and decrease in real estate prices, incorrect economic forecasts, budgeting difficulties, increase in taxes, etc.). The main factors which contributed to the economic crisis in Estonia are dwelt upon. A brief overview of the measures taken by several EU Member States for the alleviation of and getting out of the economic crisis are presented. Forecasts for 2009-2010 are discussed, also the opportunities and choices available to Estonia in the conditions of the crisis, and a few examples are given of the international political relations which have an additional effect on economic crises.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze administrative-territorial reforms in Estonia, the comparative analysis of the public administration reforms in the Baltic Sea region, to formulate principles and purposes of the administrative-territorial reform in Estonia. An administrative-territorial reform has been topical since in the Estonia regained its independence but there are virtually no results. In 1995, a law was passed granting the Government the right to take decisions on the country's administrative-territorial division. Both the local authorities and the central government can initiate changes in the administrative-territorial division. A public opinion poll must be conducted before any decision on changes can be taken, although the Government is not bound by the results of the opinion poll. By the spring of 2009, there were 227 local governments in Estonia, including 194 rural municipalities and 33 cities. The administrative-territorial organisation of Estonia needs changing. The average population of Estonian rural municipalities is less than 2,500 people and, in spite of mergers, there are still inexpedient units where the centrally located settlement is separated from its hinterland in administrative terms. However, one must be objective when preparing and carrying out the administrativeterritorial reform. The often expressed opinion that decreasing the number of rural municipalities would result in retrenchment of resources in terms of the number of local officials and administrative costs is misleading

Curricular Multilingualism using the Example of German in Estonia. In Estonia, as everywhere in Europe, multilingualism and plurilingual competence are widely discussed topics. The present article looks at curricular multilingualism in Estonia and highlights the effect of political changes on language curricula at school and on learning multiple languages. The article shows how German as the first foreign language can contribute to plurilingualism.