Latvia will have 42 municipalities instead of the current 119 after the 2021 municipal elections. This change comes with the Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas adopted in the final reading by the Saeima on Wednesday, 10 June.

The Saeima is one of the first parliaments in the world to fully shift to remote work during the COVID-19 crisis. Thanks to the new e-Saeima platform, plenary sittings can now be held remotely, with MPs participating from outside the parliament premises.

On Thursday, 14 May, the Saeima held an extraordinary sitting and approved the decision by the Cabinet of Ministers to ease the restrictions imposed during the state of emergency that were introduced with the aim to limit the spread of COVID-19.

On Thursday, 14 May, the Saeima in the third and final reading adopted amendments to the General Education Law, thus legally obliging municipalities to ensure that children have access to Latvian language education in all preschools.

"During the state of emergency caused by COVID-19, there are serious concerns when it comes to certain member states of the Council of Europe about the balance between the introduced restrictions and human rights, as well as the maintenance of a balanced separation of powers, which is the basis of democracy. When facing new challenges, we must not derogate from respecting the principle of the rule of law, and parliaments must maintain their right to scrutinise the work of the executive branch,” emphasised Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and Chair of the Latvian delegation to PACE, on Thursday, 7 May, following a remote sitting of the Bureau and the Standing Committee of the Assembly. 

On Thursday, 7 May, the Saeima adopted a statement on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the need for a comprehensive view in Europe and on a global level. It emphasises that Europe cannot be united as long as its collective memory remains divided and expresses concerns about the attempts of historical revisionism regarding the Second World War on the part of Russia. 

On Thursday, 7 May, the Saeima adopted in the final reading urgent amendments to the Law on Measures to Prevent and Overcome the Threat to National Security and Its Consequences Due to the Spread of COVID-19, thus easing employment conditions in order for companies to remain in business and safeguard existing jobs during the emergency situation caused by the virus pandemic. 

“Let us learn and draw strength from our own experience. Let us be proud of our achievements and Latvia’s growth over the last thirty years,” emphasised Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, in her address on Monday, 4 May, at the Saeima ceremonial sitting, which took place remotely, in honour of the 30th anniversary of the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia.

On Friday, 24 April, the Saeima adopted in the final reading urgent amendments to the Law on Unemployment Insurance, introducing the unemployed aid benefit. A person who ceases to receive unemployment benefits on 12 March 2020 or later and who maintains the status of an unemployed person due to the conditions created by the coronavirus-caused state of emergency, shall be entitled to request the unemployed aid benefit.