On Thursday, 16 October, the Saeima adopted in the final reading a new law setting forth rules on the management of companies owned by the state or a local government. The Law on the Management of State-Owned Capital Shares and Capital Companies will come into force on 1 January 2015 and will lay down the procedure according to which such companies are to be founded, operated and liquidated, as well as the procedure for managing capital shares, including setting of goals and assessment of operations.

On Thursday, 2 October, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Public Procurement Law, which requires that businesses submitting public tenders must first settle their tax debts. As of 1 August 2015, all contracting authorities will be required to conduct an in-depth price evaluation in cases when the quotation is suspiciously low. Analysis also will have to be conducted if the average salary in the company falls under 80% of the national average for the relevant profession.  

On Thursday, 2 October, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Law on Public Holidays, Remembrance and Festival Days setting forth that the final day of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival will now be a public holiday, and if the final performances fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the following business day will also be a holiday.

On Thursday, 25 September, when the Joint Jury convened in the Saeima to evaluate nominees for the Baltic Assambly prizes, it decided to award this year’s Prize for the Arts to Alvis Hermanis, Stage Director of the New Riga Theatre, for creative staging of numerous plays, including play Oblomovs.

The State Revenue Service (SRS) will be able to postpone or split into instalments the tax payments due from businesses that have had to delay them because of the restrictions on imports established by the Russian Federation. This is envisioned in the amendments to the Law on Taxes and Fees and the Law on the State Revenue Service, which the Saeima adopted in the final reading on Thursday, 18 September.

“Analysts have already called the speech delivered by Barrack Obama, President of the United States of America, in Tallinn yesterday the strongest since Ronald Reagan’s term in office. The emphasis on the Baltic States’ never being alone again, as well as the position of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO, and the spirit of the Wales Summit give assurance for Latvia’s security,” Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Thursday, 4 September, after the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee during which its members discussed the events in Ukraine and the security situation in the region with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

We condemn on the strongest terms the invasion into Ukraine’s territory by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Focused actions of the Russian Federation violating bilateral and multilateral agreements on Ukraine’s soveregnity and territorial integrity, and its direct support of terrorist military units threaten not only Ukraine’s or its neighbours’ security, but also security of EU and NATO member states and stability in Europe.

On Thursday, 28 August, after the meeting of the European Affairs Committee devoted to the developments in Ukraine, Chairperson Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica emphasised that “at the upcoming European Council the European Union should immediately decide on a response to Russia’s blatant aggression in Ukraine. Every minute we receive information verified by the highest officials of Ukraine and other countries that warfare in Ukraine is conducted by regular Russian troops with armoured vehicles bearing no marking of their affiliation to a particular country.” This issue will also be on the agenda of the informal meeting of the foreign affairs ministers of the European Union, the so-called Gymnich, to be held on 29–30 August.

“Despite the geographical distance, Latvia and Japan have a long history of cooperation, and successful political dialogue is a good foundation for further economic cooperation, as well as joint cultural and educational projects,” said Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, during her meeting in the Main Building of the Saeima with Masaaki Yamazaki, President of the House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan, who is on an official visit to Latvia.