Latvian Political Monitor

The international MONEYVAL report clearly indicates the need to strengthen and improve the supervision model for non-bank lenders. Duplication of functions and fragmentation are not sustainable. The changes proposed by @finmin are based on data and international recommendations 👇

🗣️ Listen to LDDK social security and health care expert Pēteris Leiškalns on LR1 @Krustpunkta at 13.05 - The President asks the Saeima to re-assess the judges' service pension law. https://t.co/qvxr1DCuEo

Conclusion from the discussion organized by @LatvijasBanka: we can no longer continue as before. Fiscal space is getting narrower because debt servicing costs are growing faster than our economy. If money is spent without clear returns, the budget does not grow. For solutions – see video 👉 https://t.co/3HeGzYnk7N

SKOLA 2030 has not only utterly failed with a huge stain of shame, but millions were spent on this reform, and in the end where is it? Burned, stuffed into pockets? Knowing which party's minister and the others involved are responsible for this catastrophe, the answer seems obvious! Such permissiveness has been happening for the last ten-odd years since Unity has been in government and continues to manifest in ALL areas, not only education but also medicine (Ministry of Health - JV), finances (Ministry of Finance - JV), internal affairs (Ministry of Interior - JV), foreign affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs - JV), and even justice (Ministry of Justice - JV)!!! But the main thing is that the Prime Minister (again JV) says "everything is fine", "Latvia shows itself excellently", "economic growth continues to grow" and this can go on endlessly as long as someone believes it, and Latvia's "independent" media even disseminate it! I already know what you will ask me - "but when will the responsible persons be held accountable???". I will tell you - when. When the relevant institutions (and here we are no longer talking about ministries) will no longer have the suffix "JV"!

Saeima restricts parents' rights — The Saeima has approved amendments to the Education Law, denying parents the right to choose the most appropriate form of education for their children, gradually abolishing distance learning as one of the forms. The formal pretext is poor results on centralized exams, which are said to be lower than the average results in in-person schools. That is true. Although I do not understand such concern, because state education policy for 30 years has said that excellence is not a goal, so the math exam is passed successfully if only 5% is obtained (for the second year now, 15% in basic school and 20% in secondary school). In my opinion, the poor results are a reflection of the inability of in-person schools. As journalists of the program “Forbidden Technique” proved, the decision to choose distance learning is often made with the help of the in-person school administration, in order to get rid of problematic children, shifting the burden of failure onto their shoulders. And there are no verifiable examples that these children, if they stayed in the in-person environment, would be more successful. Therefore, I do not consider the exam results argument to be fully valid. Quite the opposite. Several negative features are visible in these amendments. First, I understand the deputies' desire to prevent undesirable consequences based on an apparent correlation between distance learning and poor results, but it is an avoidance of context, choosing not to see the positive benefits of the system. Failure is not a consequence of distance learning as a form, but of the individual (ir)responsibility of specific young people. There are also excellent distance learners who compete with the best Riga gymnasium students. Second, distance learning was promoted by the in-person teaching bans during the “COVID times,” when a computer was the teacher for first-graders. But it created a side effect - parents' engagement in their children's education process, often recognizing distance learning as a more convenient and safer form of learning. At that moment, the concept of “family education” or “homeschooling” became relevant. In Latvia there are about 300 families who practice homeschooling, i.e., learning a curriculum where the parents themselves and/or a hired private teacher are the only educators of the children. Most often these are clearly favorable, healthy families who truly care about their children's future. Such a model is natural because it strengthens family ties. Parents are better informed about their children's development, can more accurately weigh the strong and weaker characteristics of the child as a personality, strengthening the good and whittling away the bad. This also makes it possible to protect against adverse influences, for example, early sexualization of children, which increasingly manifests in visits by various sexual education NGOs to schools, educating, for example, on gender reassignment issues. Such children find it easier to cultivate talents discovered at an early age, moving more purposefully toward a specific career. And, of course, this is a very flexible model in terms of time planning - the family itself is responsible for allocating time for the curriculum. Counterarguments are heard about exposing these children to the risk of not learning to fit into a social environment, but these are half-truths, because parents of homeschooling families pay attention to involving children in interest education activities - clubs, Young Guard, music schools, etc. Of course, there is no rule without an exception, and in this field too there could be one, manifesting as an unworthy pedagogical example or not a very successful student, but I believe this is a rarity. I do not understand why Latvia's education leadership, at least at the political level, is totalitarian, denying forms of learning that, without requiring additional investment, can result in a higher-quality outcome. Why limit people's natural potential? Distance learning was the last legal framework in which homeschooling families could exist (at least partially), not forgetting the potentially positive features of distance learning. In my opinion, the state's monopoly status in the education sector should be reduced if it prevents choosing the form of education most appropriate to the interests of the child and parents. It is only natural that parents have priority rights to determine the form of education for their children, so not only in-person form, but also homeschooling and distance learning should be legal.

The coalition is complicated because between ZZS and the Progressives there are significant ideological differences on both migration and economic issues. For example, in migration policy we must be cautious and our national identity must be protected. I also disagree with the approach that the state should not get involved when an industry is struggling, because I believe that a litre of milk processed in 🇱🇻 Latvia and every cubic metre of timber processed here creates jobs and taxes for our budget. The state's task is to defend its economic interests.

We are aware that: ✔️mid-process, the nuances will never be known 100% ✔️the global environment is constantly changing, including regulation Therefore, the dialogue between the banks and the industry continues to ensure both the quality of supervision and a competitive and development-friendly environment for industry companies. 3/3

It is important to me that the industry is heard and involved. As company representatives acknowledged in the discussion, the industry has no objections to the transition to Bank of Latvia supervision – the essential issue is the transition period and a clear, predictable process. 2/3

Thank you for the open and constructive dialogue with FinTech Latvia association entrepreneurs and @LatvijasBanka. We discussed details of the industry's and the Bank's dialogue on taking over the licensing and supervision function of non-bank lenders, and also expanded the discussion on the possible transition period 👇 https://t.co/zsRUYJS99P

Let's not harbor illusions – the aggressor cannot and does not want to change. It uses all means to return to the international arena! Today, honoring Ukraine's fallen defenders and civilian victims, an extraordinary session was held in the Saeima to mark the 4th anniversary of the war in Ukraine. https://t.co/oXAQSQPXum

🇱🇻🇺🇦 Four years of Ukraine's war of self-defense. Four years of heroism, faith in freedom, uncompromising struggle for justice. 🇺🇦 is fighting, it has become even stronger. Let us remember and honor the heroes of the 🇺🇦 people. Let us continue to support Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! #StandWithUkraine

The direct payment system must be understandable and implementable. Changes to the CAP Strategic Plan for 2023–2027 allow requirements to be better adapted to the real situation in rural areas. The intensity of inspections by the Rural Support Service has also been reduced, and in many cases fines in the social conditionality system have been replaced with warnings. In 2026, certain requirements will not apply to farms affected by the 2025 flood damage.

Dear Estonian friends, my heartfelt congratulations to you on the Independence day of Estonia! 🇪🇪🇱🇻…