On Thursday, 4 August, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to several laws aimed at improving the protection of a child’s interests by facilitating a speedy return to his or her place of permanent residence after the child has been illegally relocated and by improving the execution of decisions taken in relevant cases in Latvia.

On Thursday, 28 July, the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima adopted the national position emphasising the need to increase by 20 percent the amount of cohesion funding available to Latvia in the next multi-annual financial framework of the European Union. MPs supported this supplement to Latvia’s initial national position, which has been approved by the government, regarding the multi-annual budget framework of the European Union for 2014–2020 that will be discussed at the informal meeting of ministers and secretaries of state for European affairs held on 28 – 29 July in Sopot (Poland).

On 21 August, when the 20th anniversary of the actual restoration of independence of our country will be celebrated, the main building of the Saeima will be open to the public from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Residents and guests of Riga will have an opportunity to see several exhibitions and the historically impressive interior.

On Friday, 22 July, Speaker Solvita Āboltiņa sent a letter of condolence to Dag Terje Andersen, Speaker of the Norwegian parliament, in relation to the devastating explosion in Oslo that took the lives of several people. 

Ojars Kalniņš, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, has expressed his regret regarding Austria’s decision to deny extradition to Lithuania of the former Commander of Soviet Special Forces Unit “Alpha”, Mikhail Golovatov, who orchestrated the bloody attack on defenders of Lithuanian independence at the Vilnius television tower in January 1991.

Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, sent official letters to officials of the European Union (EU) and the parliament of EU presidency (Poland) to inform them about the statements adopted by the Latvian parliament calling on the EU to develop an equitable Common Agricultural Policy so that farmers from all the member states receive the same direct payments, as well as to maintain the existing level of EU cohesion funding.

The www.21augusts.lv website now features newspaper editions covering events of August 1991. The press coverage is published as a part of preparations to celebrate the 20th anniversary of adopting the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia.

On Thursday, 14 July, the Parliament of Latvia (Saeima) adopted two statements: the Statement on an Equitable Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union after 2013 and the Statement on the EU Budget’s Financing for Reducing Social and Economic Disparities after 2013. In the statements, the Saeima calls on the European Union (EU) to develop an equitable common agricultural policy so that farmers from all the member states receive the same direct area payments, as well as to maintain the existing level of cohesion funding in order not to jeopardise implementation of successfully launched investment programmes.

On 21 August of this year, the 20th anniversary of the actual restoration of independence of our country will be celebrated.