Latvian Political Monitor

Latvia talks about economic growth and support for local producers, but at the same time allows a gap in public procurement regulation. As a result, in Latvian schools, local and organic food may possibly be replaced by cheaper imports. Decisions had to be made in June. The entry into force of the procurement reforms pushed by the Ministry of Finance was not synchronized with the food regulation being prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture. The upcoming changes were known for a long time. Therefore, it is not an unexpected surprise. Public procurement is not just about the lowest price. It is also economic policy. Does taxpayers' money help Latvian producers invest, create jobs, and provide quality food for children? This regulatory gap must be addressed before the new school year.

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Accessible and timely health care is also important for children, including dentistry. The latest @SPKCentrs data on children's dental health shows that in Latvia over the past few years the quality of children's teeth has again begun to deteriorate, especially - the proportion of decayed teeth 🦷 is increasing. It used to be better.

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@ivchix @AndrisKulbergs No, I got those 'trophies' even earlier. I was around Jūrkalne on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday I joined the Kurzeme campaign bus - we are visiting several companies. P.S. There was no minister on the bus, nor even the prime minister.

The 10% micro-enterprise tax (MUN) regime proposed by “We Change the Rules,” with turnover up to EUR 50,000, will be a permanent tax regime. It will not be some kind of run-up, mega-growth-promoting regime for companies. It is about something entirely different. At the basis of the idea of the MUN regime is a right-wing, conservative approach — the state is glad about any economically active person who seeks to provide for himself and his family through his own work. The right honor everyone who is not a burden to the state or to everyone else. The right consider not only the first, second and third pension pillars as a pension, but also one's own savings and support from children. To build savings, one needs the opportunity to earn them, and the 10% MUN regime will provide that. In right-wing thinking, the MUN regime is not about easier conditions for the few who operate in the current distorted MUN variation, but about an entirely new legal market framework in which those who currently do not operate legally or do not operate at all can legally operate. The MUN regime is the most direct reducer of the small shadow economy. This regime applies to all people who currently earn some extra income, from which the state receives a big fat zero in taxes. And to those who are afraid to earn extra but would do so if it were easy, painless and economically attractive. The choice is between the state collecting 10% of something and the state collecting zero of nothing. The choice is between thousands of people on one or the other side of the law, with the resulting sense of belonging and attitude toward everything else happening in the country. The choice is between hundreds of people providing each other potentially dangerous services, about which the state knows nothing, and these same operators operating legally, visibly to the state and minimally regulated in the name of public health and safety. MUN is not meant for those who will grow into medium or large companies. MUN is meant for those who want to earn a living in a simplified way. MUN is for those who not only know how to sit in an office, but would gladly earn extra legally in their free time. The potential operators under the MUN regime are not competitors to those operating as SIA [limited liability companies], because they will not be able to scale due to the turnover limit. The state has a choice — thousands of people who do not use their economic potential, or thousands of people who do use it. The choice is not between whether they make proper or improper contributions to the state budget. The choice is between some contributions and zero. Apart from consumption taxes, the enterprise that this regime could potentially unleash currently gives the state treasury a big fat zero. Calculate for yourselves which is better. We are a right-wing party. To understand our proposal, one must step out of the leftism in which people are viewed as lemmings who do the same thing under any regulation. People are not like that. People do what is advantageous to them. We change the rules. We free up space for free enterprise. In Latvia, from now on, one will be able to provide for oneself not only in Reirs's imaginary salaried-employee way.

Day No. 52 in the prime minister's chair – Zemgale farmers 🇱🇻. I couldn't post this video sooner because, unfortunately, someone stepped on the leg of our family's youngest member and broke it ☹️. This time the post will be longer because I saw and heard a LOT. Entrepreneurs, farmers, family farms, producers, municipalities, and people who create jobs and Latvia's economy every day. And again one conclusion repeated almost everywhere: Latvia does not lack enterprising people. Too often we are hindered by bureaucracy, labour shortages, and rules that force entrepreneurs to fight not for development but against the state. 🌱 ASNS pea protein factory in Staļģene. This is a very important project for Latvian agriculture. From one 🇱🇻-grown yellow pea, several high-value products can be created – protein isolate, other protein products, starch, and fibre. This is exactly what we need: not simply exporting peas, grains, or other raw materials, but processing them right here in Latvia and exporting a product with much greater added value. 💶 The project has invested 132 million euros: ➖️ €53.6 million – @AltumLV loan under the Large Investment Loan Programme; ➖️ €40 million financing from @RietumuDelfin bank. ♻️ Moreover, it is planned to use practically the entire pea. Even process water rich in organic substances will be used for biogas production, and the biogas for pea drying. 👷 Approximately 100 new jobs are planned. ASNS is an excellent example of how traditional agriculture combines with technology, science, and global food market trends. We need such factories all over Latvia! 🏭 Production is planned to start in the first quarter of 2027. But there is a fly in the ointment – ALTUM and ministry bureaucracy nearly killed the project and delayed its opening by at least 2–3 years. This is a serious public administration ailment – so that no one is responsible for decisions, such a mountain of papers, requirements, and approvals is generated that it is almost impossible to lift in normal business. This must be changed urgently. 🌾 LPKS LATRAPS – Eleja. @LATRAPS unites more than 1,220 members and is the largest Latvian farmers' cooperative and one of the most significant in the Baltics. 🇱🇻 It is a 100% Latvian farmer-owned company. The cooperative provides: ➖️ grain acceptance; ➖️ initial processing; ➖️ storage; ➖️ logistics; ➖️ sales to more than 30 countries worldwide. In my opinion, LATRAPS has all the potential to enter the 🇱🇹 Lithuanian and 🇪🇪 Estonian markets much more aggressively. Otherwise, Estonians and Lithuanians come to us, but we go to them too rarely. 🌾 Grain delivery point. The visit coincided with the peak of harvest. Weather has helped farmers this time – grain moisture in places is only around 14%, so it is possible to do without additional drying. 🚜 Farm “Paugurīši”. Again I saw a beautiful model of Latvian agriculture – a father and son running the farm together. Very similar to the Riekstiņi and Amatnieki farms met in Latgale: the father has enormous practical experience, the son has modern agronomist knowledge and a fresh perspective. I saw the harvest process and we talked about the real problems of farmers. ⚠️ One of them – the European Commission's emergency funding distribution to mitigate the consequences of the Middle East crisis. Latvia has been granted one of the lowest support levels in Europe. 🇱🇻 Latvian farmers are allocated only about €10/ha, while in the so-called “old” 🇪🇺 countries support reaches €15–30/ha. I need to see and hear this myself so that at the October and December European Council meetings I can speak not theoretically but with concrete examples from Latvian countryside. 🌾 Jura Lazdiņš's farm “Lazdiņi”. Juris Lazdiņš is the chairman of the board of the association “Zemnieku saeima”, and the conversation was very specific. 💸 Mineral fertilizer prices have increased by 30–60% compared to last year. One of the significant reasons is the 🇪🇺 CBAM – the carbon border adjustment mechanism, which also affects imported mineral fertilizers. Additional costs already reach up to €157/t. At the same time: ➖️ grain prices on exchanges remain low; ➖️ fertilizers are becoming more expensive; ➖️ fuel is rising; ➖️ new levies are coming; ➖️ environmental requirements are growing; ➖️ fertilisation is being restricted. Meanwhile, farmers outside the 🇪🇺 use cheaper raw materials, fuel, and fertilisers. If we continue to unilaterally raise European farmers' production costs, we will squeeze our own agriculture out of the market. Under this scenario, several base crops in Latvia will simply no longer be profitable to grow. ❗Main farmer problems I take with me to work: ➖️ we must fight for fairer payments for Latvian farmers in the 🇪🇺; ➖️ CBAM's impact on mineral fertilisers must not make 🇪🇺 farmers uncompetitive; ➖️ part-time work regulations and minimum social contributions greatly hinder seasonal work; ➖️ the simplified tax regime for seasonal field workers must be expanded – legal work must be simpler, not more complicated. The Cabinet issue is stuck – it will have to be moved; ➖️ in public food procurement, we must not reach a situation where the only criterion is the lowest price and the local producer is squeezed out; ➖️ the planned increase in railway freight tariffs by about 25% threatens to shift even more grain transport to roads; ➖️ the requirement for diesel fuel to contain at least 6.5% biodiesel or advanced biofuel also in winter increases costs and raises concerns about agricultural machinery. Regional visits continue @Apvienotais_

Survey: 46.9% of respondents oppose Latvia's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention (87)

Not necessary. If a deputy wants to be re-elected, he will go to the voters himself.

https://t.co/urkfj1w9lm

The situation with foreigners in Latvia is much, much, much more serious than it seems from each person's personal point of view. Because the real scale of the threat is hidden from us by existing politicians and the media. There is a possibility that they themselves don't even realize it and have long since lost control of the situation. Latvia is perishing, and it is happening live on air. This article on the Telos portal helps open eyes a little (in the first comment). MMN is for them leaving. The word 'deportations' is disliked by many, but for Latvia's survival there is only one precondition: they must leave here, and there are no other options. Unfortunately, Kulberg's party AS will not help there, because they represent the interests of some big businessmen (LDDK and LTRK), whom they have brought here for their own needs. But MMN will cooperate only with those parties whose hand will not tremble on this issue and whose heart will be for preserving Latvia for our grandchildren too.