Latvian Political Monitor

I have not supported and do not support state funding intended for the Bridge federation. I want to remind that the aim of the government decision of 16 June was to support the hosting of international championships, not to allocate funding to one specific sport. The aim of the Cabinet of Ministers' decision was to help Latvia attract and host international sports championships, not to cover expenses after the fact for events already held for one specific sport. At the Cabinet meeting, both in the protocol and in the audio recording, it was clearly explained that such funding could be allocated in an open competition with all sports federations participating - in the future, not for an already ongoing event. I also have a specific question about the planned 14,000 euros for 'evaluation of competition results, as well as development of new, transparent and uniform criteria.' If this sum is needed to develop transparent and verifiable procurement criteria after the funding distribution, a legitimate question arises: on exactly what criteria were the 225,000 euros distributed this time? I believe that the Ministry of Education and Science must submit a calculation of this sum, the source of funding, and procurement documents, and must justify why this work cannot be done by officials of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economics, whom the Cabinet has already tasked with monitoring the competition results. I am not clear what the employees of the Ministry of Education and Science are doing, if an external evaluator needs to be hired for 14k EUR? This waste and the constant engagement of meaningless consultants must be stopped.

Yesterday we visited the border area - Terehova (border with Russia) and Pāternieki (with Belarus). While politically there are discussions about what and where can/cannot be transported in the EU ecosystem, in everyday life there is simply work that directly concerns the Ministry of Finance. Customs is a structural unit of VID, but VID itself is under the supervision of the Finance Ministry. The most pressing issue - for example, customs officers' salaries, which compete with border guards. We must try to resolve differences so as to reduce unproductive inter-agency competition. From the eastern side come goods such as Temu and Aliexpress, which stay a bit in Latvia, but most goes further to Europe. Can we facilitate customs clearance more in Latvia to ensure more taxes for the budget? A very interesting topic. Then Uzbeks traditionally bring watermelons, berries, and mushrooms, which are processed in Poland and return to our stores. In the opposite direction, a large part of cargo is EU-produced alcohol, for example. They drink, we get transit tax money and jobs in the border area. A surprising order has been introduced at the border, electronic queues, no crowding there. The biggest challenge is sanctions cases, we have to control hundreds of thousands of items, understand what is what. Even a regular house facade panel can or cannot be a sanctioned product. Handling confiscations sometimes takes months and requires very good training of customs officers. Mostly various everyday spare parts, construction materials, nothing sensational. Cigarettes are now smuggled much less, they are more produced domestically, but drugs are also caught, like this week 250 kg of heroin. A very valuable visit, we also discussed drone matters, they are 'used to it'. Also lessons from the storm in a no-communication and no-electricity situation. What we need to be ready for next time, but that also requires funding - where and how to organize the system to be better prepared next time. Well, we'll take that into account to find the most optimal solutions. It is always important to be on site, talk to people directly, office reports don't give such an impression. Meanwhile, in Riga yesterday there was a full moon. Due to the skewed fantasies of officials, a state of emergency was pushed to be introduced at the border to more easily resolve practical technical issues. A fuss arose that also echoed in foreign press. Completely unnecessary noise over stupidity.

Strazdiņa's reports from the USA never cease to surprise. Instead of finally finding some local experts, at least if not politicians, from among people close to politics, she calmly reads news from her phone. For 200k of taxpayers' money per year…

Day No. 63 in the prime minister's seat (Friday) — from the first speech in the Saeima, airBaltic to South Korean investments Friday started early — with an interview on LTV's Morning Panorama. 📺☕️ Questions, of course, about the most current topics — CSDD and airBaltic. 35th anniversary of the restoration of Latvia's real independence — celebrations in the Saeima with my first speech to the Saeima parliament and an award at the Presidential Palace to the outstanding Māra Zālīte - I recommend listening to her speech delivered in verse, it was something special. 🚗 CSDD In my opinion, CSDD now needs to come up with concrete solutions to reduce potential risks to citizens after the data leak. ➖️ For example, it should provide the option to change car license plates for free for those who wish. Initially, a few hundred new plates could be created, with old ones handed in and gradually replaced. That's just one possible solution. ➖️ I also believe that every affected person should individually receive an apology letter from CSDD, clearly stating what exactly their data was stolen, what the potential risks are, and where to seek help. ✈️ airBaltic I tried to very clearly explain one thing to TV viewers — it is NOT true that the government will now automatically give airBaltic 30 million euros again. The Saeima has given the government the opportunity to decide whether to lend money to the company together with private investors or not. If the state participates as a lender, then we can continue to sit at the same table where decisions about the company's future are made. No longer as owners or shareholders, but as lenders or bondholders. Because it is no secret — currently the state, as an airBaltic shareholder, has practically no real influence, and the value of our shares has effectively been lost. That's why it's important to at least retain the possibility to be at the table and know what will happen with the company next. 🇰🇷 Later in the day, I met with the Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Park Duk-hyum. The conversation was very practical — not diplomacy for its own sake, but about concrete business, investments, and cooperation. ➖️ We discussed the MiCA regulation and Latvia's potential to become an even more significant financial and crypto-asset hub in Europe. Latvia already has its success stories here. ➖️ We agreed to develop the idea of Ādaži cooperation with a partner city in South Korea. 🇱🇻🤝🇰🇷 ➖️ I told about the advantages and uniqueness of the Sēlija military training ground, as well as Latvia's defense industry opportunities. ➖️ We also talked about Ķekava and specific cooperation opportunities. 💊 I see very good opportunities for Latvia's chemistry and pharmaceutical industry to cooperate with Korean companies in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and components. ⚡️ Particularly interesting — a South Korean company plans investments in a methane production plant and SMR (small modular reactor) technology. Latvia should be active here from the very beginning. And at the end of the conversation, I said a very simple thing: We, politicians, are paid also to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and opportunities. Not only to talk about the economy, but to help create real deals. And it seems we are getting better and better at it. 💪

Day No. 62 (Thursday) in the prime minister's seat — AirBaltic address in the Saeima and the visit of the Lithuanian PM Who makes the prime minister's daily video? 🏛️ Thursday began with an address in the Saeima The speech was devoted to the vote on @airBaltic. I emphasized that this vote is vitally important for the airline — it is effectively the last chance to escape the debt burden that, until now, was not accumulated by attracting 380 million € in financing during the JV government and E. Siliņa's leadership. The positive signal — private financiers, not the state, are involved in attracting financing for AirBaltic. AirBaltic's future will no longer rest only on the state's shoulders. Thank you to the Saeima deputies who acted in a state-minded way by voting in support of saving AB, so that it can finally sort out its finances and debts before attracting a strategic investor. On Thursday, the first foreign visit of the Lithuanian PM took place — the new PM @mindaugassink visited Latvia. As is usual among Baltic neighbors, we discussed all our common "Baltics" 😉 — airBaltic, Rail Baltica, Via Baltica, as well as other common issues for Latvia and Lithuania. 🛡️ We particularly emphasized the common challenges: ➖️illegal migration; ➖️security on our external border; ➖️Latvia and Lithuania cooperation in border protection. 🚁 We had also planned to go together to the Latvia–Belarus border, but the weather made adjustments — due to heavy rain we could not fly by helicopter. I was ready to go by car, but the Lithuanian colleague chose not to go this time. No matter — next time. There are still plenty of border issues to address together. 🇱🇻🤝🇱🇹 The closer Latvia and Lithuania cooperate, the stronger the entire Baltics.

Day No.61 in the prime minister's chair 🇱🇻 BNI entrepreneurs, AirBaltic, government salaries and 5 hours on national security Wednesday started with a meeting with the President, but ended with a 5-hour-long National Security Council meeting, about the content of which I am not allowed to say much. 80 BNI entrepreneurs The day began with an early morning meeting with 80 entrepreneurs from 2 BNI clubs, where I had to answer very challenging and difficult questions in front of a full hall. I will always stand up for entrepreneurs, because they are the ones who pay all the bills in the country. Without strong entrepreneurs, there will be no strong and prosperous state. 🏛️ Meeting with the President We discussed several state-important issues. 🔐 CSDD incident and data leak ➖️ Board and council members cannot just receive often astronomical salaries. Along with the position and remuneration comes RESPONSIBILITY. ➖️ The President and I agree – at this scale of consequences, responsibility cannot end only with resignation. If harm has been done to the state and a threat has been created to people, legal responsibility must also be assessed. The Prosecutor General's Office is already working on it. I hope for a quick and fair process, because here we are also talking about the security of ALL state officials. ➖️ At the same time, other risks must be reduced. On the VID website, the database of officials' declarations is still publicly available, which can be used for profiling by connecting it with other databases and AI tools. This does not mean hiding the declarations! They are and must remain PUBLIC. But access can have at least minimal protection and traceability – for example, authentication with eParaksts, Smart-ID or https://t.co/kCHMBLvCE6. We preserve the public's right to know, but we should not leave the door wide open for mass data collection. ✈️ AirBaltic strategic plan ➖️ I emphasized that one of the most important tasks is to find a STRATEGIC INVESTOR specifically in the aviation sector. The Ministry of Finance must be tasked with actively seeking and attracting a strong industry player. ➖️ We agreed that AirBaltic remains a significant part of Latvia's economy. The Saeima and the government must do everything possible to prevent the airline from becoming insolvent. Kozlovskis and the Ministry of Transport's plan must be given a chance to work as a last resort to ensure that this time the company is saved by private capital, not again just by state money. 💶 Public sector salary increases and indexation for 2027 – WE CANCEL In a situation where tax revenues are not being met and the state is living on borrowing, further increasing spending on public sector salaries would be wrong. Especially at a time when salary levels in the public sector have already reached or even surpassed the private sector in many places. First, let's sort out state finances. Then we talk about new spending. Call with Moldovan Prime Minister Vasili Tofanu We discussed the two countries' positions on European enlargement. ➖️ My position is clear – the doors to Europe are open for Ukraine 🇺🇦 and Moldova 🇲🇩. Now the countries themselves must do their homework, continue reforms and adapt to European standards in order to be ready for EU membership. ➖️ Interestingly, we both come from the business environment. This very quickly allows finding common language – fewer diplomatic phrases, more about practical solutions and results. ➖️ We also discussed the future of Transnistria. A very interesting reality – about 73% of trade transactions already take place with the EU bloc, and about 235,000 people are closely connected to Moldova's economic space. Integration is already happening practically and peacefully in many places. ➖️ Moldova is also seriously concerned about Russia-created and funded electoral populism, disinformation, and attempts to influence public opinion. 🌾 For the first time summoned to the @ZZS_ faction. Like at school – to the principal 😄 I was questioned about AirBaltic for 1.5 hours. With full responsibility, I explained the figures, risks, possible scenarios, and what will happen with one or another Saeima decision. But, as I suspected, in the end it turned out that ZZS had already decided to vote AGAINST beforehand. So the question arises – why was an hour and a half of "hearing" needed? 🤷‍♂️ I feel sorry for my time. 🛡️ The day ended with a 5-hour-long National Security Council meeting. I will not publicly say much about the content, of course. But on security issues, Latvia currently has neither holidays nor the option to postpone anything to a later time. That was Day No.61.

I welcomed @eucopresident to Riga today for a very important and productive meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office. 🇱🇻🇪🇺 We discussed the EU’s next seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), where I stressed the importance of strong European support for the countries on the EU’s Eastern Flank. Countries protecting the EU’s external border against an aggressor are investing not only in their own national security, but in the security of Europe as a whole. This responsibility must be properly reflected in the next EU budget. There can be no strong defense without a strong economy — and no strong economy without security. Watch the full interview at the link below.

📍 The need to fix the procurement system so that we don't overpay for it; 📍 The municipal financial equalization model; 📍 Preparation for the next EU funds planning period. Today a valuable conversation about this with the chair of Kuldīga Municipality Council, Inese Astaševska https://t.co/uDu1lyP2It

The communication crisis after the storm would be a very good reason to review the government's plans regarding the planned deal in the telecommunications sector. Paying half a billion for something that only lasts two hours without electricity would be unwise.

@B03091315B Boards and councils must be addressed comprehensively with the change of governance of all state capital companies - you can't tackle each one individually - what's the point if the whole system needs to be changed. Work is being done on it and a solution will be offered already in September.

@BrunenieceI @DavidsZalans That was decided already with the 2025 budget.

Ministries will have to submit an assessment of the usefulness of large public procurements by the end of September, the Cabinet of Ministers decided today following a proposal by @Finmin. Each ministry and each minister must be be able to clearly show that the planned procurements are useful and justified.

@DavidsZalans Overall, the SAFE 3.5b€ loan is a decision under Siliņa's government. Refusing it would mean a total vacuum in defense... there were no options, defense is a priority

Two ways to solve Ukraine's budget deficit in the military sphere: 1. Prevent Russia from receiving money and equipment to produce missiles 2. Solve Ukraine's ability to timely destroy ballistic missile launcher systems

🇪🇺 citizens do not have to pay the entire war bill 🇺🇦, expenses should be covered from 🇷🇺 frozen assets in Europe. It is enough to guard them, they would suffice for 🇺🇦 a full year of warfare https://t.co/TkOUQy3c35

I didn't quite understand? The increase is built into the coefficient written into the law, which increases on January 1... freezing is the fastest way to take action... the alternative is more complicated because the law needs to be changed... what exactly isn't clear here? There is no increase today... and none was planned on my part. It is a norm written into the law that the media interpreted, but before claiming anything, the budget must be approved.

@BSmildzina Mrs. Smildziņa, if that is indeed your true identity 🙃 Your mentioned sequence of consequence arguments has long lost its relevance, because wages between Latvia and the EU have on average leveled out and Latvia still receives more money from the EU than it gives back. What exactly is the concern?