Latvia’s Public Electronic Mass Media Council (SEPLP) has told the state-owned TV channel, LTV7, to provide all content in Latvian only as of 1 January 2025, BNS reports. Currently, LTV7 carries programmes in Russian as well. Earlier, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, approved a new national security concept that obliges Latvia’s public broadcasters to have…
Russian-speaking MPs representing the Latvian opposition party, For Stability, have been fined repeatedly for failure to speak the official state language sufficiently, LSM reports. The State Language Centre (VVC) has issued several administrative fines to MPs representing For Stability for not using Latvian to the extent necessary for the performance of their professional and official…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has supported in first reading amendments that would ban vehicles with Belarusian licence plates in the country, LSM reports. Under the proposed amendments, vehicles registered in Belarus would have to be transferred out of the country or reregistered in Latvia by 31 October 2024 at the latest. Otherwise, the vehicle…
A public petition in Latvia is collecting signatures for a ban on the Chinese social media network, TikTok, LSM reports. The author of the initiative, Arturs Babuskins, stated that the social media application was used to “glorify Russian crimes, incite hatred, and divide society.” Moreover, the petition cites data security concerns. Public petitions need at…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed a law to dissolve the Rezekne city council due to violations in financial and budget management, LETA reports. The city council served its last day on 1 July 2024, but plans to contest the dissolution in the Constitutional Court. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development pointed…
Negotiations about possible changes to Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government may resume at the end of summer 2024, with discussions about potentially expanding the coalition, LETA reports. Maris Kucinskis of the opposition United List confirmed the group’s interest in joining the government but only as a unified party. Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze acknowledged informal…
Russia has issued arrest warrants against Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Deutsche Welle reports. This is the first time that Russia has opened a criminal case against an acting foreign head of government. The Russian Interior Ministry’s full database of wanted people, which was leaked to independent Russian media outlet Mediazona, indicated that Kallas and…
Latvia’s ruling coalition has agreed to ban imports of Russian and Belarusian grain, BNS reports. The coalition expects the parliament, the Saeima, to pass a bill on the ban in February 2024. Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze said that companies using Russian grain would be ineligible for state support. Also, the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD)…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics backed a unilateral ban on Russian grain imports without waiting for a joint EU decision, LETA reported. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Evika Silina, Rinkevics pointed out that some of the Russian grain was stolen from occupied Ukrainian territory and that Russia was using food as a “hybrid weapon.”…