Latvian Political Monitor

- Mr. Viļums, why are you so angry? - Politics must be transparent. I have little left. 🤭

Day No. 79 (FRIDAY 18 Sept) — The new European MFF budget in the Saeima, meeting with security services 🎾 I opened the best padel sports centre in Latvia and all Europe – “LNK Industries” have invested more than €10 million of private money to host a world-class championship in Latvia, attracting the 300 best top-level athletes from around the world. I will always support our own entrepreneurs. This will certainly give a big push to the development of padel sport in Latvia. 🏛️ In the Saeima I went to the European Affairs Committee I explained to the parliament deputies the government's position in the negotiations in the European Council with leaders and the Commission on the new EU 7-year budget: ➖ This budget will be more challenging than any previous one, because negotiations take place when the EU economy is stagnating, there is the impact of the war caused by Russia, support for Ukraine, the eve of major political changes, as well as the impact of the Hormuz conflict on inflation and energy ➖ The paying countries, especially Germany, see no possibility to pay what is asked, while the receiving ones this time absolutely do not back down from their needs – the EU Commission and António Costa will have a very difficult time reaching an agreement by the end of the year ➖ I pointed out that Latvia suffers at least €1 billion per year, or due to the threat from the eastern neighbour, GDP is 1.9 percentage points weaker than the EU average, while inflation is 3.7 percentage points higher than the EU average. That will be €7 billion in 7 years, and in parallel Latvia spends the most on direct defence, borrowing “SAFE” money, which creates an even greater debt burden, while our direct military purchases warm the economies of Spain, Germany, Sweden and Finland ➖ Latvia historically receives smaller direct payments for farmers in Europe – this unfairly arose many years ago due to incorrectly made calculations. I remind about this every time I meet ➖ The new EU budget envelope is completely different than before, because the EU very cunningly packs together cohesion and agricultural funding, leaving its redistribution to each member state. The problem-solving is shifted to the national levels of 27 countries, not a centralized agreement as before. That means we in Latvia will have to agree very seriously and responsibly on the correct allocation of these funds ➖ Latvia currently unofficially has a calculated larger EU funds budget than the previous envelope, but when recalculated in nominal prices, it turns out that the new one is smaller! A serious fight lies ahead to win a fair result for Latvia, especially considering how much we invest in strengthening the EU's external border and security 🕵️‍♂️ I met with MIDD, SAB and VDD about the security situation in the country ➖ The main conclusion – especially German, but also Polish, French and other countries' societies are little informed about Russian threats and hybrid attacks, thus not paying enough attention to national investments in defence and support for Ukraine ➖ The loud rhetoric is mainly intended for internal, not international, communication. In Latvia, on the other hand, there is an overly informed and sensitive society that perceives this common background with a certain level of anxiety ➖ This is also where this imbalance arises between European leaders' desire to mobilise their societies, which indirectly affects Latvian people, increasing concerns ➖ The Russians are certainly ready to carry out various provocations, and the services do not rule out such a possibility – at present the services have no more specifics, and the threat level remains as before Our greatest attention is focused on security measures during the elections, so we have asked, and the Germans have agreed to send us fighter jets to additionally watch over our airspace 💪🇱🇻

It's sad to watch, frankly, how powerless democracy is against crooks who know its loopholes. Stepaņa is nothing but a 'face-lifted' Ždanoka. Everyone knows and understands that the 'soļķi' steal and fraternize with traitors, yet they still let her roam around the domestic backyard. https://t.co/vdS8gC4Au3

Rudīt, sorry for the inability to perceive the generalizations and assumptions you express.

@AlksneR @ainarsgrieze @Braze_Baiba @AndrisKulbergs Sorry, Rudīte, I still didn’t understand what you said. Do you think that expressing an opinion is interfering with the government’s work? How exactly could that happen?

@UsulisBintars @Braze_Baiba @AndrisKulbergs Noted that writing wedding scripts and organizing corporate events is yellow👌 thanks, I really didn't know that nuance. But it's commendable that you're getting involved in civic activity🫡

@VeikoSpolitis @Valsts_drosiba @SAB_LV @prokuratura_LV @KNABinforme I'm really surprised how the former assistant of Ādamsons walked free, who himself admitted that Ādamsons was on "you" terms with the computer and that he wrote all the texts for the deputy. Then likely also the spy reports. Now first number in Kurzeme...

Even the independent judiciary has put everything on hold for three years…

@EdgarsPutra If Valainis in Riga on posters promises food without VAT, then with such trivialities he certainly won't bother…

@evita_purina @jemberga There is already an average pension of 1000 and an average salary of 2500.

@Rudmatis Yes, the IMF believes in nothing other than raising taxes. And why should it believe? That many parties on credit. Can we change?

@true_soldierAGI I have given interviews to EuroNews, FRA media, Balt and others. No one is laughing about 🇱🇻 anywhere, actually they are proud, especially 🇺🇦, because we stand to the end.

@SandrisSabajevs @CerinsAivis @Braze_Baiba No, this is 100% a Ministry of Foreign Affairs decision, not the Cabinet.

Day No. 78 (THURSDAY 17 Sept) — Meeting with US envoy John Coale and the Swedish ARCHER howitzer story; LIZDA 🤝 Meeting at the Cabinet of Ministers with the US D. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) envoy on Belarusian affairs, John Coale (@johnpcoale). So active, sharp-minded and with a good sense of humour – I was surprised to learn that he is already 80 years old. ➖ He had just returned from a meeting with Lukashenko, where, thanks to his efforts, a large number of political prisoners were released ➖ It was a very substantive conversation in which we discussed the situation in Belarus, the US role, the war in Ukraine and the issue of Russia and Ukraine's grain blockade ➖ I particularly highlighted Russia's organised hybrid attack with the flow of illegal migrants to the LV border through Belarus, in which special services participate and which they organise – I presented the latest figures and measures ➖ I stressed that US–Latvian economic relations cooperation must be changed and raised to a new level from 15th place into the TOP 5️⃣ – I mentioned the military industry, the energy sector and US cargo flows from Central Asia ➖ He promised to discuss the Latvian question with D. Trump 🛡️ The defence deal question on the ARCHER system from Sweden 🤷‍♂️ It is incomprehensible what motives drove the previous defence minister not to make a decision for 2 years on the purchase of the defence system and howitzers. To me it is a mystery, because if the decision had been made, we would already have had systems delivered that would fill a significant pillar of Latvia's critical defence plan. ➖ Because of the delayed and unadopted procurement decision, it is now necessary to assess which supplier is more suitable so that we can fill this position as quickly as possible. With the Czech 'Morana' system, this can be done at least 1.5 years faster ➖ Capabilities and total costs are also not unimportant. The Czech system works with all NATO and Latvia-held 155 mm ammunition, and there is a very large financial difference – we simply do not have the resources in the Ministry of Defence budget to buy the expensive Swedish systems. Moreover, the Czech manufacturer will localise 20% of production in Latvia – that means jobs, taxes and production capacity! ➖ The NBS already a year ago and again now confirmed point by point that it is not changing its assessment – for Latvia's needs the Czech system is more suitable because it covers the needs fastest 👥 Meeting with LIZDA (@lizda_lv) ➖ We talked about education reform and the fact that changes need to be less frequent and smaller. Schools and teachers are very tired of constant changes ➖ We discussed budget issues – I listened to LIZDA's and teachers' demands, while LIZDA's head Inga Vanaga also listened to my and the Cabinet's questions about state finances and the budget 📡 Meeting with OTAN ➖ OTAN military communication system that can combine all communication networks into one – a solution for civil protection services and municipalities to be in a single communication system. It is a very worth-considering option to deploy it across all Latvia, not only for military needs in the border area. I will speak with Raivis Melnis about funding 💪🇱🇻 📰 I gave interviews to Bloomberg magazine and , LIZDA

@MinnaBremze @SandrisSabajevs @Braze_Baiba @AndrisKulbergs Where does the little troll work?😹

Any restriction of expenditure will, of course, affect current GDP. GDP already reflects current spending. Example from the Kalvītis floor-it period. Money flowed in streams, on credit. It was a good party. GDP grew at great cost. Nice? And then a severe hangover. I doubt that this scenario needs to be repeated. In my opinion. Of course, if borrowed money is not pumped into consumption, it will have a negative impact on today's spending (GDP). How much? Economists are trying to forecast it. But it will not be 1:1, because our spending also includes many imported goods. Purchasing imported goods has virtually no effect on GDP. Well, then you can look at scenarios. Whatever they may be. And then estimate the negative impact on GDP.

@Vinotava @Braze_Baiba @AndrisKulbergs By no means is @AndrisKulbergs any kind of messiah, and he does not pretend to be one. Let everyone do their own job properly, and those sitting in the same boat won't have to squabble.