On 10 June 2021, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, for whom this was the first visit to Latvia.
Politics
A vote of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, on June 10 decided to waive the parliamentary immunity of long-time deputy Jānis Ādamsons (Harmony party) to help an investigation into whether he passed sensitive information to Russia.
President of Latvia Egils Levits said in an interview to Latvian Television June 8 that the Saeima was not working to its full potential.
Local government elections this year were characterized by low turnout and a desire for stability, the President of Latvia Egils Levits said in an interview to Latvian Radio on June 7.
The Board of the Latvian Regional Alliance (LRA) has requested Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš to immediately remove Welfare Minister Gatis Eglītis (New Conservative Party), according to a statement released June 6 by the LRA.
Opposition parties allied with the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS), and Latvia's Regional Alliance (LRA) did the best out of municipal elections held across most of Latvia June 5, though provisional results show no single party really dominated the poll.
Local elections taking place across most of Latvia, excluding the capital city, Rīga, failed to stimulate large numbers of people to cast ther ballots.
Inese Ikstena, a deputy of the 13th Saeima with the Development/For political grouping, has passed away, it was confirmed June 5.
Saturday, June 5 is polling day in the 2021 Latvian municipal elections, taking place across most of the country with the notable exception of Rīga.
The provision of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is in line with the Latvian Constitution, the Constitutional Court (ST) concluded June 4, closing proceedings on the rest of the case.
In the two early days of municipal elections, at least 55,116 residents 5.72% of those with voting rights have made their choice, according to data from the Central Election Commission (CVK) June 3.
The now-four-party Latvian coalition government managed to get new ministers installed June 3, but not without lengthy debate and some severe criticism in Saeima debates.
Early voting in the local government elections resumes Thursday, June 3, according to the Central Election Commission (CVK).
The First Three Seas Parliamentary Forum, where the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Three Seas Initiaitive (3SI) countries will discuss in virtual format the topics of energy, transport, and digital sector infrastructure, will be held June 3 with Latvia participating in the form of Saeima speaker Ināra Mūrniece.
In the afternoon of Wednesday, June 2, four political forces signed a new coalition agreement at the Saeima.
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announced details June 2 of a major re-shuffle within his cabinet and the ruling coalition, with the KPV LV party departing government.
President Egils Levits entered the fray June 1 in the escalating face-off between the Saeima and the Constitutional Court over the fate of Varakļāni district.
Saturday, June 5 is local election day across Latvia, with the notable exception of the capital city, Rīga and the Rēzekne and Madona disctricts.
On the first day of the early vote in the municipal elections, May 31, over 15,000 people cast their vote, according to data compiled by the Central Election Commission (CVK).
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Pēteris Kārlis Elferts, the Latvian Ambassador to Greece, passed away in Athens on May 28.
The ever-more-deranged Lukashenko regime in Belarus said May 28 it was opening a criminal investigation against the mayor of Rīga, Mārtiņš Staķis, and Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs for replacing the post-1995 state flag of Belarus with the pre-1995 state flag of Belarus, reported Belarusian media.
Imposing new economic sanctions against Belarus will mostly affect transit and logistics in Belarus and neighboring countries, Latvian ambassador to Belarus Einārs Semanis told Latvian Radio May 28.
On May 27 the Saeima rejected the proposed amendments to the Law on the Circulation of Alcoholic Drinks, which would include the amount of calories on the packaging of these drinks.
Russian officials have expressed dissatisfaction by the Riga City Council's decision to replace the Russian Federation flag against the Russian Olympic Committee's flag on the advertising stands of the World Hockey Championship, Latvian Television reported May 26.
In connection with the expulsion of diplomats from the Embassy of Latvia in Belarus, the consular services offered by the embassy have been discontinued for an indefinite period, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said May 25.
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš told Latvian Radio May 25 that he had never witnessed a decision being made among EU leaders as quickly as the sanctions against Lukashenko in the case of plane hijacking on Sunday.
On June 5, residents of Latvia (including many people from other European Union countries) will head to the polls to elect new district councils across the nation, the first election since major administrative district reforms were enacted which drastically reduce the number of municipal districts from 119 to 42.
For voters who are unable to vote on the official election day, June 5, early voting will be open on May 31, June 3 and 4, said the Central Election Commission (CVK) May 25.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Monday, May 24, that the Latvian ambassador to Minsk, Einars Semanis, has to leave the territory of Belarus within 24 hours.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Latvian parliament (Saeima) has added its voice to an international statement calling for tough action against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko following his seizure May 23 of an international airliner in order to get his hands on a political opponent.