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On Wednesday, 26 September, the outline for Latvia’s priorities during its presidency of the Council of the European Union was presented at the Saeima. Žaneta Ozoliņa, Professor at the University of Latvia, and Inga Skujiņa, Head of the Presedency Secretariat, informed the Steering Committee for planning the parliematery dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union about the conclusions drawn from the ten thematic discussions held earlier this year.
When presenting the conclusions of the thematic discussions, Žaneta Ozoliņa indicated that during discussions which took place from 4 June til 6 September, more than 140 topics were identified as significant for Latvia and Europe, and they could serve as the basis for defining Latvia’s priorities. “Defining priorities for the presidency will require social innovation in the generation and implementation of ideas. The proposed topics can be characerised by key concepts such as green thinking, sustainability, human security and ability to balance mid-term and long-term interests,” said Ozoliņa. “I am pleased that Latvia has started to define its priorities for the EU presidency by actively involving society; public discussions were attended by a large number of NGOs and sectoral experts. It indicates that society will play an important role in setting the EU agenda,” highlighted Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima.
Furthermore, the Speaker indicated that discussions have commenced on the parliamentary level regarding cooperation with the presidency trio.
As part of the preparations for Latvia’s presidency of the EU, 13 discussions were held with a total of more than 1,200 participants representing diverse sectors. The discussion which was devoted to Latvia’s priorities in regional development was held at the Saeima and attended by Latvians working at the EU institutions, politicians, civil servants, researchers, as well as representatives from NGOs and youth organisations.
The Steering Committee for planning the parliematery dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union consists of representatives from all the parliamentary groups and the group of unaffilaited MPs; its goal is to draft a programme of parliamentary events for Latvia’s presidency of the EU.
Latvia will preside over the Council of the EU in the first half of 2015. It will be part of the presidency trio together with Italy and Luxemburg; this means that these three successive presidencies will have to cooperate over an 18-month period to provide continuity in common political programmes.
Photos from the event are available at:https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157631627905596/
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.
Saeima Press Service