On Monday, 23 February, Aija Barča, Chairperson of the Social and Employment Matters Committee of the Saeima, addressed her counterparts from the parliaments of all the EU member states who had gathered in the Saeima to participate in the Meeting of the Chairpersons of the Committees on Employment and Social Affairs, which is one of the events of the Parliamentary Dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In her address, Barča emphasised that the regaining of European citizens’ trust depends on professional and effective resolution of social challenges. 

On Monday, 23 February, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, addressed representatives from the parliaments of all the EU member states who had gathered in the Saeima to discuss social affairs. In her opening address, the Speaker emphasised that social maturity is  revealed  by society’s attitude towards the most vulnerable groups and that the EU member states must join their efforts in finding new and effective ways of including socially vulnerable people in both social life and the labour market.

On Monday, 23 February, the chairpersons of the Committees on Employment and Social Affairs from all EU member states will gather at the Saeima. This will be one of the six interparliamentary events organised by the Saeima within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

“When asked how he felt after signing the Minsk Agreement, President Poroshenko replied that Ukraine needs breathing space, at least for a moment, for a week or two. People are worn out by the war,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, after meeting with Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, during her official visit to Ukraine. “The ceasefire is needed for civilians to relocate to safer places, to restore infrastructure, to give people a chance to get food and medical assistance. If the ceasefire holds, people would suffer less and Ukraine would regain its strength.”

“Today everyone’s eyes are fixed on Ukraine in admiration for your courage, your longing for freedom, your desire to preserve the spirit of the Ukrainian land and the sanctity of its borders,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 12 February, during her official visit to Ukraine at the opening of the concert of the Latvian Radio Choir and the Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga held at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in honour of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Speaker will address the audience in the Ukrainian language.

In order to learn about the everyday work of MPs and staff of the parliament during the Latvian Presidency, on Job Shadow Day, 11 February, almost 350 youths from all over Latvia visited the Saeima as shadows of MPs, ministerial employees, experts and journalists. 

On Wednesday, 4 February, when Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament (EP), she emphasised that “attracting public and private investment, creating new jobs, as well as reducing social inequality are essential for Europe’s economic development; they are not only topics for parliamentary discussions but issues that directly affect all Europeans”. She also expressed satisfaction about the long-awaited discussions concerning European Union’s investment plan, or the so-called ”new deal”, within the framework of the EU economic governance conference organised by the Saeima and the EP.