On Wednesday, 22 January, during its extraordinary plenary sitting, the Saeima approved Laimdota Straujuma as Prime Minister and gave a vote of confidence to her Cabinet of Ministers. There were 64 votes for, 27 votes against and 2 abstentions.

On Sunday, 18 January, members of the Presidium of the Saeima, members of the Education, Culture and Science Committee of the Saeima and staff members of the Saeima took part in the public campaign Chain of Booklovers – the Path of Light. The campaign was the central event in the opening of Riga 2014 in which thousands of people passed books from hand to hand from the old building of the National Library of Latvia to the new one.

On Thursday, 16 January, the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Diplomatic and Consular Service Law drafted by the Foreign Affairs Committee, setting forth that only persons with no other citizenship than Latvian can be diplomats.

On Tuesday, 14 January, while meeting with the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOC) to discuss our country’s preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the members of the Sports Subcommittee of the Saeima also wished Latvia’s athletes endurance, success and a feeling of the Olympic spirit.

This year we are marking the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way. A quarter of a century has passed since 23 August 1989, when two million people of the Baltic States joined their hands forming a 600-km-long chain which connected the capital cities of the Baltic States, thus manifesting their aspirations for freedom, self-determination and democracy. The Baltic Assembly (BA), an institution for parliamentary cooperation among the Baltic States, is urging young people to take part in an essay contest by viewing the historic events of that time from today’s perspective and expressing their reflections and feelings regarding the Baltic Way, said Raimonds Vējonis, Vice President of the BA.

“Introduction of the euro in Latvia proceeded like clockwork, and now we must prepare for managing equally successfully Latvia’s first presidency of the Council of the European Union by involving society, including the Latvian diaspora. This is a step forward in keeping the public’s attention focused on topical EU issues even after the presidency,” stressed Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima. On Friday, 10 January, the Committee met with EU affairs experts to discuss the accomplishments and planned future activities regarding foreign policy and EU issues before the Saeima’s annual foreign policy debate.

On Thursday, 9 January, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, presented the Cicero Award to Carl Bildt, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs. She addressed the prize winner and the participants of the ceremony, pointing out: “They say there are no friends in politics. Latvia’s history has proven otherwise. Sweden has granted shelter to numerous Latvian families that were forced to leave their motherland during the most severe tempests. During the Awakening, it was you, Mr. Bildt, who strongly supported the Baltic States and acted as our voice to reach out across the world”. 

At its meeting on Wednesday, 8 January, the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima received reports from the institutions responsible for introducing the euro and concluded that the changeover had proceeded like clockwork and without substantial problems.

Christmas is the time when peace and love enter our weary world. This time brings a message of a new life symbolising a brighter and purer world. The Christmas season reminds us that true values transcend worldly cares and that true values lie within ourselves – our faith, hope, love and the strengthening and uplifting moments of togetherness with our loved ones.

Taking into consideration that Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the beginning of 2015 will be of national importance and that it will involve not only the government but also cooperation between the legislature and the executive power, on Thursday, 19 December, the political parties represented in the 11th Saeima signed an agreement on the preparation and implementation of Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.