Politics
An envelope wage scandal in the prime minister's party Unity has been made public by former party office employee Normunds Orleāns. The political force calls this a lie. The allegations will still be assessed by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), Latvian Television reported on March 11.
Three months ahead of European Parliament (EP) elections, the latest party ratings show that New Unity (JV) has lost its longtime leading position and been overtaken by the National Alliance (NA).
An emergency meeting of Rēzekne City Council on Thursday, February 29, has decided to reduce budget expenditure to stabilize its financial situation. Deputies unanimously approved a reduction in spending of 3.5 million euros, thus moving towards a no-deficit budget approval at the next City Council meeting on March 7.
The organization of a €210 million tender for the routine maintenance of Riga's streets was one of the biggest projects under the responsibility of the Riga Outdoor and Mobility Department. The Department was raided by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) on Monday, and this might delay the process further, Latvian Television reported Tuesday.
Rēzekne City Council did not view its draft budget decision on Wednesday, February 21, which was the last day for budget adoption and the last day to submit it to get a 5-million euro loan from the state, Latvian Television reports.
Since it has been unveiled that former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) had a liking to private jets and special flights, more so than most European politicians, the Latvian Television broadcast "What is happening in Latvia?" (Kas notiek Latvijā/KNL) has been analyzing related data from various sources. KNL compiled its findings so far as of February 19.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) issued a statement on February 12 warning the public that political organizations, as well as non-party persons, might use artificial intelligence-generated materials during the pre-election campaigning period to, among other things, deliberately disinform potential voters and influence their opinion.
In connection with the public information about possible contacts of the leader of the Latvian Russian Union and current MEP Tatjana Ždanoka with Russian special services, both Ždanoka herself and the party co-chairman Miroslavs Mitrofanovs went to a conversation with the State Security Service (VDD) last week, reported Latvian Television's De Facto on February 12.
February 4 sees the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the parliaments of the Nordic countries and the Baltic States begin their joint visit to the United States to highlight the importance of continued support to Ukraine, as well as to discuss defense cooperation and strengthening security on the NATO Eastern flank.
The state is prepared to financially help the bankruptcy-facing municipality of Rēzekne with a loan of EUR 5 million only if the municipality can prepare the budget for this year without a deficit. That hasn't worked so far, and Rēzekne municipality is still in financial danger, Latvian Radio reported January 30.
The strong support Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka (Latvian Russian Union party) has always shown for Vladimir Putin and Russian foreign policy – even at its most brutal – is a matter of long record. But now an investigation by Re:Baltica, the Baltic Center for Investiagtive Journalism, in association with Russian independent outlet The Insider, Delfi Estonia and Ekspressen in Sweden claims to provide definitive proof that Ždanoka is not just a Kremlin ideological fellow-traveller but an active collaborator with Russia's FSB security service.