Latvia's critical infrastructure is safer on land than at sea, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) said in an interview on LTV's Rīta Panorāma (Morning Panorama) program October 25.
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The construction of the A2 building of the Stradiņš hospital is still going slowly, and the amount of European Union (EU) funds needed has increased to 60 million euros, which there is a risk of losing in this process, Normunds Staņevičs, the chairman of the temporary board of the Stradiņš hospital, said in an interview on the LTV program "Rīta Panorāma" (Morning Panorama) October 24.
Next year, medical workers and technical staff of medical treatment institutions can expect a rather substantial increase in salaries, so it is likely that a strike will be avoided, Valdis Keris, chairman of the Latvian Union of Health and Social Care workers (LVSADA), said in an interview on the Latvian Television newscast “Morning panorama” on October 18.
Not only in Daugavpils Regional Hospital which has repeatedly raised bankruptcy alarms but also in other hospitals outside Rīga, there are financial problems, therefore the Ministry of Health plans to assess whether these should in future be partially state-managed, Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri (New Unity) told Latvian Television October 18.
The State Border Guard, as well as the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) and the State Police (VP) face a serious lack of employees, and in some units of the police in Rīga, where the crime rate is the highest in the country, even 60% of employees are missing, said Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity party) in an interview with LTV October 13.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs is convinced that "tough action" is necessary to provide support to borrowers who, due to rapidly increasing Euribor rates, have difficulty paying interest payments on mortgage loans – though he is not specifying exactly what form that action should take.
Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze (Union of Greens and Farmers) promises to fight for the reduced value-added tax (VAT) rate not only for fruit and vegetables, which will be reimposed at the full 21% rate next year after five years of a reduced rate, but also for other foods, Krauze told Latvian Television October 9.
The pressure of illegal migrants on Latvia's border is not decreasing and the challenge to the border guard is large enough, the Chief of the Border Guard Guntis Pujāts in an interview with Latvian Television morning broadcast on October 4.
The Saeima Budget and Finance Committee will continue discussions on the protection of mortgage borrowers, including a 50% reduction in loan interest payments for one year, the Chairman of the Committee Jānis Reirs (New Unity) told Latvian Television on October 3.
Since last spring, when Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the level of threat to Latvia's cyber environment has been high, and there is currently no hope that this activity will decrease, Baiba Kaškina, head of information technology security incident prevention institution Cert.lv, told Latvian Television on October 2.
The economy of both the eurozone and Latvia is weak this year, but it will begin to recover in the second half of next year, said Mārtiņš Kazāks, President of the Latvian central bank (Bank of Latvia, LB), in an interview with the Latvian Television morning newscast on Septemebr 29.
Although the last promised deadline for new Škoda electric trains to start running in Latvia was autumn this year, Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens (Progressives) is cautious and says it is likely that passengers will not be able to ride them before next year, he said on Latvian Television's morning newscast on September 28.
At the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS), 'courage boxes' are placed in the procedure rooms. They contain various items, like toys, that a child may receive after performing the procedure. The hospital invites everyone in Latvia to help fill the courage boxes, thus making the visit to the hospital more enjoyable for children, Latvian Television reports Monday.
It is necessary to create a single health system database with a patient register, which will show all information regarding the patient and his or her previous checkups, the newly appointed Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri (New Unity) said in an interview with Latvian Television on September 25.
New Saeima Speaker Daiga Mieriņa (Union of Greens and farmers) wants to improve Parliament's dialogue with non-governmental and public organizations, she said on the Latvian Television broadcast Morning Panorama on September 22.
The Inčukalns underground gas storage facility has been filled in sufficient quantity to provide gas for Latvia this winter, the Climate and Energy Minister Kaspars Melnis (Union of Greens and Farmers) told Latvian Television on September 20.
On September 16, an audit of coastal waste was conducted by the association Zero Waste Latvija on Daugavgrīva beach, where the waste collected during the hour was analyzed in order to understand what pollutes the beach the most, Latvian Television reported on September 18.
The reconstruction of Vanšu and Zemitāna bridges in Rīga could start at the end of next year or the beginning of 2025, Rīga Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis (New Unity) said in an interview with Latvian Television on September 8.
In the government formed by Evika Siliņa (New Unity), the political force would like to retain the post of finance minister, said Edmunds Jurēvics, Vice-President of the New Unity faction, in an interview on Latvian Television September 4.
Prior to this week's public announcement, the National Alliance had not been informed about the move by the Prime Minister candidate Evika Siliņa (New Unity) to form a government without NA, Saeima deputy Jānis Dombrava (NA) told Latvian Television on August 30.
The issue of teachers' rights or the lack thereof should be sorted, said Inga Vanaga, chair of the Latvian Education and Science Workers Union (LIZDA), in an interview to the “Morning panorama” program of Latvian Television on August 28.
Although the interest in joining the National Guard is lower than last year following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it is still high, Commander of the National Guard Kaspars Pudāns told Latvian Television on August 24.
The threat to Latvia of the military mercenary group Wagner is decreasing, but it should be noted that Belarus will try to increase pressure on the border with Latvia, Director of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Jānis Sārts said in an interview with Latvian Television on August 24.
The construction of the fence on the border with Belarus is hampered by builders' capacity, so the possibility of involving the National Armed Forces (NBS) is also under consideration, said Interior Minister Māris Kučinskis (United List) in an interview on the “Morning Panorama” broadcast of Latvian Television August 22.
The Saeima opposition parties Latvia First and For Stability!, which will meet with the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs on Tuesday, believe the formation of the next government should not to be entrusted to the New Unity party, the parties' leaders Ainārs Šlesers and Aleksejs Rosļikovs told Latvian Television on August 22.
Any decision to close the border with Belarus must be uniform in all the Baltic States, otherwise, it will be possible to bypass the border, Defense Minister Ināra Murniece (National Alliance) said in an interview with Latvian Television on August 21.
Following the entry into force of increased tariffs, the electricity distribution network (Sadales tīkls, ST) encouraged citizens to assess and reduce their connection load in order to reduce electricity bills. If someone changes their mind, there will be no service fee, ST representative Gunta Līne told Latvian Television on August 18.
Following the decision of the current Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) to resign, the candidate for the post, current Minister for Welfare Evika Siliņa told Latvian Television August 17 that negotiations on the formation of the next government cannot be dragged on longer.
The damage caused by Monday's storm is currently estimated at EUR 11 million, the Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Māris Sprindžuks, told Latvian Television on Friday, August 11.
Employers have stalled the raising of the minimum wage in Latvia without justification, said the head of the Free Trade Unions Association Egils Baldzēns on Latvian Television August 2.
The Health Ministry's plan to reorganize the hospital network and to change the range of services available in hospitals should be more specific, the Chairman of the Latvian Hospital Association Jevgēņijs Kalējs told Latvian Television on August 1.
With the mercenary group Wagner in Belarus, various scenarios, including provocation against neighboring countries, cannot be excluded, but the abilities of Wagner should not be overestimated, the new Latvian ambassador to NATO Māris Riekstiņš said on Latvian Television on July 28.