Riga Vice-Mayor Linda Ozola (Code for Riga) retained her position after a vote at an extraordinary meeting of the Riga City Council on Wednesday, November 13.
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Should the State Audit Office (VK) be allowed to audit the Saeima's expenditure? Such an initiative is currently being proposed by members of the Progressives faction of the Saeima. Currently, the law does not provide for this, and parliamentary expenses are audited by specially selected audit firms, who do not check the cost-effectiveness, Latvian Radio reported on November 11.
Ivars Šulcs, who was recently named for the position of board member of Latvian Public Media (LSM) in matters of technology management, announced November 5 he was withdrawing his candidacy after questions were raised about his suitability for the position.
How is Latvia doing in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing? We'll soon find out as at the moment, a new assessment is being made by experts from "Moneyval" who have arrived in Latvia to gauge the situation. T
Saeima debates about the government's proposed budget for 2025 got off to a less-than-slick start on Wednesday, October 30, with the parliament failing to form the necessary quorum, reports Latvian Radio.
Juris Jakovins, a member of the Saeima and a doctor from the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) faction, will be handed over for criminal prosecution, according to the Saeima Mandates, Ethics and Submissions Committee's decision October 29.
The Ministry of Economics will propose limiting food mark-ups in supermarkets and offering transparent pricing tools. The aim is to achieve a price reduction of up to 20% in the group of basic necessities, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis (Greens and Farmers Union) said on October 28, Latvian Radio reports.
The next local elections will have a new look for ballot papers, and polling stations will be open for five days during the election week, according to the changes to the law adopted by the Saeima on Thursday, October 23.
The Saeima will have to decide whether to send MP Viktors Pučka (For Stability!) for an in-depth state language test, the Saeima's Mandates, Ethics, and Submissions Committee decided Wednesday in a closed part of the session, Latvian Radio reports.
The Saeima committees continue to unravel the plans for next year's state budget in various sectors. On Wednesday, October 23, the Saeima's Economic Affairs Committee also focused on the defense budget plans. The biggest priorities of the sector are the development of the capabilities of the armed forces, Latvian Radio reported.
On Tuesday, October 15, the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa (Greens and Farmers Union), received the draft 2025 State Budget from the Minister of Finance, Arvils Ašeradens (New Unity), in a large leather bag, as is customary.
At an extraordinary meeting on Monday, October 14, the government approved the draft 2025 national budget and decided to send it to the Saeima for consideration, Latvian Radio and Latvian Television reported.
Almost three months have passed since the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the implementation difficulties of the Rail Baltica project started its work. The investigation should be final in December this year, Latvian Radio reported October 7.
Reacting to the idea about the planned increase of excise duty on fuel, Liene Cipule, the head of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS), has expressed her concerns about the fuel supply to the emergency services on the microblogging site "X" October 2.
The Latvian Education and Science Workers' Union (LIZDA) is ready to agree to a lower wage increase than the 8.5% stipulated by law, on the condition that negotiations on the compensation of the remaining part and further regulation of the wage increase will continue, reports Latvian Radio.
The Central Election Commission (CVK) is proposing to introduce clearer ballot papers for the next municipal elections in summer 2025. The responsible committee of the Saeima agreed to put the proposed changes to the law to Parliament, Latvian Radio reports September 18.
The Ministry of Health has requested additional funding of EUR 153.3 million in the coming year as a "survival minimum" but it does not look like the funding will come, Latvian Radio reported on September 18.
Cars registered in Belarus must be re-registered for use in Latvia by October 31 or leave the country, the Saeima decided in its final reading on Thursday, September 12.
At present, there is no information that any municipality in Latvia still has a twinning agreement with a local authority in Russia or Belarus, but to avoid issues in the future, a law could be passed, Latvian Radio reported on September 11.
Starting next year, it is planned to increase the personal income tax (PIT) rate, set a fixed and higher non-taxable minimum, and raise the minimum wage, Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens (New Unity) said at a press conference on Friday, September 6.
Emergency services for the Latvian population cost €8 million more than planned in the first half of the year, while the overall shortfall in the state budget for hospital services exceeded €20 million in the first half of the year, according to the Latvian Hospital Association, Latvian Radio reports September 5.
A monument to the Napoleonic-era Russian general Barclay de Tolly does not need to be removed from public display, the Council of Monuments of the Riga City Council decided on Friday, August 23.
Whether and in what form to introduce a bank surplus tax is a matter of divided opinion among the political forces forming the coalition. There is consensus that budget revenues can be raised through the banking sector, but diverging views on the form, Latvian Radio reports August 19.
Late on Thursday evening, the State Police carried out a raid to check riders of electric scooters and bicycles. Several drunk riders were caught in a short space of time and are liable to a statutory fine for this offense, Latvian Radio reported.
After last week's heavy rains, potato farmers in many parts of Zemgale and Vidzeme are facing a problem - water is not draining and crops are in danger of rotting, Latvian Radio reported on August 8.
Construction work is currently underway on 67 sections of national roads, and so far everything is on schedule - no delays, Latvian State Roads said August 6.
In Rīga, the storm will cost more than €1.5 million and the total amount is not yet estimated. Of this, half a million is needed for repairs to affected schools and kindergartens before the start of the school year. The responsible services expect that it will take at least another month to recover from the storm, Latvian Radio reports August 5.
The court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Rolands Kronlaks, the former head of the Music Technology Department at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA), against the JVLMA, Latvian Radio reports August 1. He had challenged his suspension, claiming that it was unlawful.
Thursday, July 11 saw the first meeting of a special parliamentary commission of inquiry into the painful progress of the massive 'Rail Baltica' infrastructure project.
In June, 121 abandoned bicycles were identified in the historic center of Rīga. It remains to be decided what to do with them, Latvian Radio reported on July 7.
Abandoned bicycles do not only take up space on the bicycle racks in the center of Riga, they have also been a long-standing – literally – issue in the capital. Long-lost bicycles with flat or missing tires, a rusty chain or a torn seat have been plastered with messages urging people to remove them.
Abandoned bicycles do not only take up space on the bicycle racks in the center of Riga, they have also been a long-standing – literally – issue in the capital. Long-lost bicycles with flat or missing tires, a rusty chain or a torn seat have been plastered with messages urging people to remove them.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has decided to suspend the payment of state budget funding to the opposition National Alliance (NA) political party for one year, as it is deemed to have significantly exceeded the permissible limit of spending state budget funding for communication with the public and political agitation in 2022, according to the anti-graft force, which also monitors political funding.
With employers and trade unions unable to agree on a solution to changes in sick pay, the Ministry of Economics, together with the Ministry of Welfare, has put forward a proposal to reduce the amount employers pay for sick leave. The trade unions are categorically opposed to this, Latvian Radio reported June 2.
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