Latvia’s Central Election Commission (CVK) has registered a signature campaign for holding a referendum on changing the country’s state-funded pension system, LSM reports. The populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), initiated the referendum campaign after the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, rejected the party’s legislative proposal. The referendum campaign is very unlikely to succeed, however. Under…
Opposition parties in Latvia have seized on culturally divisive issues to garner support ahead of the parliamentary elections in October 2026, New Eastern Europe reports. Earlier, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, voted to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women. Opposition parties claim that the human rights treaty is…
Latvia’s Riga city court has issued an arrest warrant for former MP Aleksejs Roslikovs of the pro-Russian opposition party, For Stability, who has been charged with inciting national and ethnic hatred, LSM reports. At a press conference in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Roslikovs suggested that he might not return to Latvia, LETA reported. Earlier, he resigned from…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed a law on the establishment of a new national concert hall, the Riga Philharmonic, LETA reports. The law designates the concert hall with the status of an object of national interest. The plan is to build the concert hall by reconstructing and expanding the Riga Congress Centre. The…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has extended a ban on the import of agricultural and animal feed products from Russia and Belarus until 1 July 2027, LSM reports. Latvia banned the import of certain agricultural products from the two aggressor states in March 2024. The ban applies to products originating from Russia or Belarus that…
Political leaders in the Baltic States criticised US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks that he could pull the US out of NATO. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that such suggestions were “harmful even if not acted upon,” ERR reported. He insisted that NATO benefited both Europe and the US, warning that all allies would…
Latvia must be fully ready to dismantle railway tracks going to Russia if necessary, Foreign Minister Baiba Braze stated, LSM reports. However, she said that it would make no sense for Latvia to do so unilaterally. Latvia will coordinate the issue with Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland. Earlier, the presidents of the three Baltic States…
Latvia’s current coalition government has a 52-vote majority in the parliament, the Saeima, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, pointing to the parliament’s approval of the 2026 state budget, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina noted that none of the coalition parties had expressed no-confidence in each other and no minister had needed to…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, will begin work on legislation to improve consumer protection against financial fraud, Anda Caksa, chairwoman of the parliament’s budget and finance committee, announced, LETA reports. Speaking after a meeting with representatives of the Finance Latvia Association (FNA), Caksa said that legislative changes were needed so as to require mobile operators…