On Thursday, 4 December, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, while meeting with the participants of the Conference of the Presidents of the European Parliament, emphasised that “Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will take place at a time of significant institutional change within the European Union – for many of us this is a new beginning. Therefore, I am glad for the active dialogue among the newly elected officials in Latvia and officials at EU institutions.” At the Conference, the Latvian parliament was represented by representatives of parliamentary groups of political parties elected to the Saeima, as well as chairpersons of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima.
Press releases
Čigāne at the LII COSAC in Rome: 2014 is the “moment of truth” for the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy (02.12.2014.)
“This is a year of radical challenges; one can even say that this is the “moment of truth” for the Neighbourhood Policy of the European Union. It is a reality that cannot be ignored, and it must be the point of departure for any analysis of the state of play and future vision of the EU’s foreign policy,” said Lolita Čigāne, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee, on Tuesday, 2 December, at the LII COSAC held in Rome during the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
On Monday, 24 November, the Baltic Assembly adopted a Statement calling on Russia to discontinue its provocative actions against Georgia, to withdraw the so-called Treaty on Alliance and Integration, and to fulfil its obligations under the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 and its subsequent implementation as of 8 September 2008.
On Monday, 24 November, the Baltic Assembly, the Nordic Council, the Benelux Parliament, the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly and the Visegrad countries held parliamentary consultations at the Saeima. The main item on the agenda was security in Europe and Central Asia.
Honourable President of Latvia,
Mūrniece at the ceremonial sitting of 18 November: The state can exist as long as its people want it to exist (18.11.2014.)
“The state can exist as along as its people want it to exist or, in other words, as long as the people have a strong desire for their own state. It is a nation’s political choice – to exist as a titular nation with its own language, culture and collective memory, and to desire its own nation state. With this strong desire we as a society that is united by belonging to Latvia have become stronger, more cohesive, more similar in our understanding of the events of our past, and we feel the ground more solid under our feet,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Tuesday, 18 November, when addressing the participants of the ceremonial sitting held at the Saeima in honour of the 96th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia.
Lolita Čigāne to chair the European Affairs Committee (11.11.2014.)
Today, at the first meeting of the European Affairs Committee, its members elected Lolita Čigāne as the Chairperson of the Committee.
Today, at the first meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, its members elected Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš as the Chairman of the Committee.
On Wednesday, 5 November, during its extraordinary plenary sitting, the Saeima, with 61 votes for and 39 votes against, approved Laimdota Straujuma as the Prime Minister and gave a vote of confidence to her Cabinet of Ministers.
Ināra Mūrniece elected as the Speaker of the Saeima (04.11.2014.)
On Tuesday, 4 November, Ināra Mūrniece was elected as the Speaker of the 12th Saeima.