On Thursday, 12 December, the Saeima in two readings urgently adopted amendments to the Law on Ports, stipulating changes in the management of the Port of Riga and the Port of Ventspils.

According to the amendments, the Riga and Ventspils port authorities will be supervised by the Cabinet of Ministers, which will also approve the ports’ articles of incorporation.

Henceforth, the Riga Port and the Ventspils Port will be supervised by four members of the board representing the Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, assigned by the Cabinet.

According to the Law, members of the board appointed by the Riga City Council and Ventspils City Council will be dismissed.

The amendments task the government with examining the conformity of the existing port management model with the internationally accepted principles of good governance, and submitting to the Saeima a draft law on the substitution of the management model of Latvian ports by 1 July 2020.

Saeima Press Service