Commentary
This commentary piece is by Gonzalo Gasós, Senior Director of Prudential Policy and Supervision at the European Banking Federation. It first appeared on the macroeconomics.lv website of the Latvian central bank.
There are many valid reasons to watch Latvia's Academy Award entry for 2024, the animated film 'Straume' ('Flow'): technical excellence, a strong original ambient score, pan-generational appeal and – at least as far as Latvian audiences are concerned – a certain patriotic duty to support local creative artists, of which director Gints Zilbalodis is potentially the most eminent example.
The level of money laundering risk in the national financial system is determined by assessing both the threats posed by money laundering activities and the vulnerability of the anti-money laundering framework. In threat assessment, analysing cross-border payment flows and their proportionality to the national economy, including factors such as foreign trade and direct investments, plays a crucial role.
As of July this year, Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), the country’s media watchdog, has banned the retransmission and distribution of 142 Russian TV channels. Entertainment programs, including popular comedy shows familiar to Latvian audiences, are a staple of Russian television. Although these shows are often perceived as purely for entertainment and free from political influence, this is a misconception.
This June, five coffins filled with plaster, draped in French flags, and inscribed with "French soldiers in Ukraine" were discovered near the Eiffel Tower. At first, it seemed like an anonymous protest by the French against their government’s consideration of sending military personnel to Ukraine. But police soon detained three foreign nationals who had been paid 400 euros to deposit the coffins.
A discussion is ongoing regarding a potential increase in the Latvian standard VAT rate from 21% to 22%. There are good arguments in favor of such an increase but also strong arguments against. In the following piece, I would like to present some of both but start with some basic facts regarding VAT in Latvia as well as taxation in general.
The good news: according to a recently released report from the Latvian Economics Ministry, nominal GDP will double during the period 2023 – 2035, from 40.3 billion euros in 2023 to 83 billion in 2035.
The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) – one of Latvia's three security services – has published the latest in a series of commentaries on topical issues. This time the subject under examination is the Russian hybrid threat. The commentary is reproduced in unedited form below. More articles are available at the website www.sab.gov.lv.
The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), one of Latvia's three security services, has published an English-language assessment of what it believes to be the current situation in Russia.
A recent report titled “Increasing investments and competitiveness for Latvia’s economic security” from the influential American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia (AmCham) calls, on page 3, for a “transition to a high value-added economy”.
Latvia's international competitiveness must be built on innovation in the digital sector, and the adoption of appropriate regulation could allow the Web3 and blockchain industry to become part of Latvia's economic identity. Next year will be crucial for Latvia's ability to position itself as a country open to innovation in financial sector, writes Reinis Znotiņš, Executive Director at the Latvian Blockchain Association.
The importance of digitalization in and of healthcare has been placed into focus for several years and although there are systems in many countries, the full potential of it has not been fully implemented. In Latvia, the process has intensified recently, but what does it mean in practical terms? Kadi Lubi, Kristaps Krafte and Ieva Dzirkale offer their thoughts on the matter on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia.
The very particular Latvian tradition of tending graves and burial plots is included in the nation's cultural canon and plays an important role in Latvian society. Although attitudes towards death, dying and burial have attracted a lot of attention from anthropoligical researchers around the world, surprisingly little is known about the practice of visiting cemeteries, according to Madara Oga-Timofejeva, a student of social anthropology at Riga Stradins University (RSU), who writes below about her research project.