A group of 150 European Parliament members has issued a statement condemning early moves in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, to define the family in solely heterosexual terms.
Politics
On Thursday, January 14, the Saeima transferred to the Legal Affairs Commission a proposal from the National Alliance political grouping to amend Section 110 of the Constitution, to stipulate that the concept of a 'family' is based on a union between a man and a woman.
On 13 January 2021, political consultations of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and China were held in a video-conferencing format co-chaired by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Qin Gang, a press release from the Ministry said.
On Thursday, January 14, the Saeima approved temporary position of Saeima deputy for Gatis Zamurs (Development/For!).
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš told Latvian Television January 13 that ministers might get vaccinated against Covid-19 as a priority.
This is not the time for discussions on amendments to the Constitution, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) told LETA January 11.
Certain restrictions introduced to reduce Covid-19 distribution will have to remain until crowd, or herd, immunity is achieved, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš told LETA January 11.
With the change of the Minister for Health, no major changes are expected, but more intensive work is to be awaited, said political scientist Juris Rozenvalds in an interview on Latvian Television January 11.
President Egils Levits told Latvian Television January 8 that the dismissal of Health Minister Ilze Viņķele was a 'logical decision' and a signal for other ministers to work as a team.
The Latvian government decided January 7 to extend the current restrictions regarding Covid-19 until January 25. Some amendments to the rules have also been made, including to the range of products that can be purchased in stores.
The Latvian Saeima acted at express speed January 7 to approve Daniels Pavļuts as the new Minister for Health just hours after his party named him as the replacement for Ilze Viņķele. A special distance sitting of the Saeima convened at 16:50 and closed at 18:10 having made its decision.
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) has on January 7 signed the request for resignation of Health Minister Ilze Viņķele (Development/For!), according to State Chancellery.
The right-of-center National Alliance (NA) political grouping has submitted to the Saeima a draft law regarding an amendment to the Constitution, which intends to define the concept of family as a union of a male and a female person, according to a statement by NA January 7.
Daniels Pavluts, head of the Development/For! Saeima faction and candidate for Health Minister, told Latvian Radio January 7 that he would continue on the course taken by current Health Minister Ilze Viņķele.
The For! party has chosen head of the party in the Saeima, Daniels Pavļuts, as its nominee for the position of Health Minister of Latvia, current Health Minister Ilze Viņķele told Latvian Television January 6.
None of the potential future Health Ministers mentioned in connection with the sudden vacancy have so far expressed their readiness to take the post, Latvian Radio reported January 6.
The decision of Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš to request the resignation of Health Minister Ilze Viņķele shows the ability of the PM to take action, said political scientist Ilga Kreituse in an interview to Latvian Radio, January 6.
The main issue between the Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Health Minister Ilze Viņķele is the radical difference in opinions, Ilze Viņķele told Latvian Television January 5.
The current restrictions in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 have been extended until January 25, Director of the State Chancellery Jānis Citskovskis said at a remote press conference following government meeting January 5.
State President Egils Levits responded to the dismissal of Health Minister Ilze Viņķele January 5, issuing a statement in which he said her replacement needs to be someone "with vision and initiative".
Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said January 5 he would demand the resignation of Health Minister Ilze Viņķele on Thursday as government communications took a bizarre turn in cyberspace.
Oppposition parties continue to hold the affections of voters more strongly than those in government according to the latest political polling by the SKDS pollster for Latvian Television. Respondents were asked for whom they would vote if parliamentary elections took place tomorrow.
On Tuesday, January 5, the Cabinet will decide on the further course of restrictions to reduce the spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said at a press conference January 4.
Former Latvian Minister of Finance Dana Reiniece-Ozola is to lay down her Saeima mandate in order to take up a job with the governing body of world chess, FIDE, she has announced on her Facebook page January 4.
Dear people of Latvia,
Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš has released the now-traditional prime ministerial New Year message, broadcast by LTV immediately before the New Year message of President Egils Levits.
The curfew and other rules imposed by the government this week are 'absolutely necessary', said President Egils Levits in an interview to Latvian Radio December 30.
The Latvian government clarified details on the new COVID-19 rules at a meeting Wednesday, December 30, according to State Chancellery.
The government has on December 29 decided to introduce a night-time curfew and to extend the current state of emergency by a month, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said at a remote press conference.
The government has approved Latvia's national position on the agreement between the European Union (EU) and former EU member state the United Kingdom on future relations, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said in a remote press conference December 28, LTV reports.