“The Baltic States and the Nordic countries should work in close cooperation to defend their common European values, democracy, and human rights,” stressed Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, in a meeting at the Parliament of Latvia with Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden, during his official visit to Latvia.

Heads of five delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Georgia – signed a joint statement today, on 1 October, in Strasbourg. In the statement, the representatives of the five countries drew attention to the compromised values of the Council of Europe, as the PACE majority turns a blind eye to continuous violations of human rights, the occupation and annexation of territories, war waged by the Russian Federation against its neighbours, as well as countless other violations that the Russian Federation continues to commit after the restoration of its voting rights in the PACE.

“The Baltic–Poland cooperation format is crucial in defending joint interests,” said Vita Anda Tērauda, Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima, on Monday, 30 September, during her visit to Kaunas, Lithuania, where chairs of the European affairs committees from the Baltic and Polish parliaments convened to discuss the drafting of the Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union (EU).

On Monday, 30 September, the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) together with representatives from like-minded countries (the Baltic+ Group) met Amélie de Montchalin, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg. The delegates reiterated their protest against restoring the voting rights of Russia and pointed out that Russia must strictly adhere to the principles, standards and binding resolutions of the CoE.

On Thursday, 26 September, the Saeima adopted the National Security Concept. As highlighted in the Concept, in view of changes and processes in the global security environment the threat level of Latvia has reached such complexity that the security of the State can no longer be ensured by military means alone as they cannot tackle all the forms of hybrid threats. Thus, Latvia must provide a comprehensive response to these challenges.

Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian delegation to the PACE informed that the like-minded delegations (the Baltic+ group) at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in a joint letter have invited Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic, the country currently holding the presidency of the Council of Europe, to a meeting to discuss further action following the restoration of Russia's voting rights at the PACE.

“The development of the Baltic region requires a close parliamentary cooperation between Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Likewise, it is essential to work closely together with the government, especially when it comes to ensuring progress in such topical matters as the high-speed railway project “Rail Baltica” or joint procurement of medicines and medical devices,” said  Jānis Vucāns, President of the Baltic Assembly (BA) and Head of the Latvian delegation, after a meeting of the delegation with Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister, where future cooperation priorities were discussed on Wednesday, 25 September.

On the 160th anniversary of Jānis Čakste, the Saeima started a new project entitled The Family Bookshelf. Every visitor of Auči, the family home of J.Čakste, is invited to enrich the museum library with books about the visitor’s own birthplace, region, country or family.

Democracy was the method Jānis Čakste chose for the development of Latvia. It was his decision, his path and his vision. Democracy also serves as the foundation of Latvia’s current development, stressed Ināra Mūrniece, the Speaker of the Saeima, in her opening address at the scientific conference dedicated to the 160th anniversary of Jānis Čakste on Friday, 13 September, at the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia. J.Čakste was the Chairman of the People’s Council, the Speaker of the Constitutional Assembly, and the first President of the Republic of Latvia.

On Thursday, 19 September, the Saeima in the second and final reading adopted urgent draft law regarding amendments to the Agreement on Law Enforcement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the United States of America of September 2004.