On Thursday, 28 February, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on State Social Benefits in the second reading under urgent procedure, according to which a guardian will be able to receive allowance for taking care of a child under guardianship also after having moved permanently abroad together with the ward.

Irrespective of the occupation you choose, it is important to preserve the values: integrity, equity, Latvianness, in order for Latvia to exist for centuries to come.  For each of us, Latvia is the big task for the future, said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday, 13 February, to the participants of the Job Shadow Day at the Saeima.

On Thursday, 7 February, the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Law, which were declared urgent, stipulating that Members of Board of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet shall henceforth be appointed for a term of five years instead of the previous three years.

On Thursday, 7 February, the Saeima adopted a declaration on the rights of the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in Latvia after the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU) or the so-called Brexit.

In a joint nomination, the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the respective Parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have nominated the journalism collective Bellingcat for Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in investigative reporting.

On Wednesday, 23 January, the Saeima held an extraordinary sitting, at which the Cabinet of Ministers formed by Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš was approved by 61 votes for and 39 votes against.

On Thursday, 13 December, the Saeima adopted a statement expressing support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine vis-à-vis the aggression by the Russian Federation in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait. In its statement, the Saeima strongly condemns the aggressive and provocative actions by the Russian Federation conducted on 25 November 2018, which included blocking, ramming and capturing Ukrainian navy ships and crew members, thus violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and fundamental principles of international law.

The developers of the social network Facebook need to engage in a regular dialogue and cooperation with national governments and lawmakers to prevent online disinformation and political campaign financing violations, while also protecting user data. Such steps will minimise growing global concerns about Facebook being used as a tool for election-rigging. These are some of the issues underlined by Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Chairperson of the Saeima National Security Committee, in a speech before the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and Fake News meeting in London.

On Wednesday, 28 November, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima adopted a statement on Russia’s acts of aggression against Ukraine in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, strongly condemning Russia’s aggressive and provocative conduct. i.e., blocking, ramming and capturing Ukrainian navy ships and crew members, thus violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and fundamental principles of international law.

“The people’s dream of an independent Latvia, the politicians’ ability to work together for a higher ideal and parliamentary democracy – these were the cornerstones of the newly-founded state. Today we can only marvel at how politically mature and modern the state of Latvia was upon its birth. Our nation has gone through a lot over the past century, but this path has always led us towards the three stars. Our land, our language and our state,” underlined Speaker Ināra Mūrniece during her address for the ceremonial sitting of the Saeima in honour of the 100th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia at the National Theatre of Latvia.