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Latvia and the European Union LATVIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRY REPORT SERIES V INSTITUTE OF CULTURE AND HISTORY LATVIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRY REPORT SERIES V European Policy Studies ! Institute of Culture and History University of Amsterdam Malou van den Broek, Liz Sophie de Bruijn, Enita Dautovic, Wojtek Dubelaar, Nathalie Felix, Dirk Goll, Remmert Keijzer, Renée Kok, Samuele Marsura, Chantal Mulder, Jessie Post, Lisa Schipper, Sabine van der Vaart, Jelle Vennik © 2012: Malou van den Broek, Liz Sophie de Bruijn, Enita Dautovic, Wojtek Dubelaar, Nathalie Felix, Dirk Goll, Remmert Keijzer, Renée Kok, Samuele Marsura, Chantal Mulder, Jessie Post, Lisa Schipper, Sabine van der Vaart and Jelle Vennik. ISBN: 978-90-807611-7-9 Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand, of openbaar gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch, door fotokopieën, opnamen of enig andere manier, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de auteurs. Voor zover het maken van kopieën uit deze uitgave is toegestaan op grond van artikel 16B Auteurswet 1912 j0, het besluit van 20 juni 1974, Stb. 351, zoals gewijzigd bij het Besluit van 23 augustus 1985, Stb. 471 en artikel 17 Auteurswet 1912, dient men de daarvoor wettelijk verschuldigde vergoedingen te voldoen aan de Stichting Reprorecht (Postbus 882, 1180 Amstelveen). Voor het overnemen van gedeelte(n) uit deze uitgave in bloemlezingen, readers en andere compilatiewerken (artikel 16 Auteurswet 1912) dient men zich tot de uitgever te wenden. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying or recording, without prior written permission of the authors. ! LATVIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION i Table of contents List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................... v! Map of the Republic of Latvia ............................................................................................... viii! Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ix! 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1! 1.1 Outline ................................................................................................................................ 1! 1.2 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 2! 2. Latvia: an overview ................................................................................................................. 5! 2.1 Territorial divisions ............................................................................................................ 5! 2.2 Environment ....................................................................................................................... 6! 2.3 Demographics ..................................................................................................................... 9! 2.4 The European Latvian ...................................................................................................... 14! 3. History .................................................................................................................................... 19! 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 19! 3.2 Pre-modern history (9000 B.C. – 1200 A.D.) .................................................................. 19! 3.3 German, Polish and Swedish rule (13th century – 18th century) ....................................... 20! 3.4 Russian reforms (18th – 20th century) ............................................................................... 22! 3.5 National awakening (1860 – 1920) .................................................................................. 23! 3.6 Latvian independence (1917 – 1940) ............................................................................... 25! 3.7 Soviet occupation (1940 – 1941) ...................................................................................... 29! 3.8 German occupation (1941 – 1944) ................................................................................... 32! 3.9 Soviet occupation (1944 – 1991) ...................................................................................... 34! 3.10 Independence (1991– present) ........................................................................................ 44! 3.11 Current debate about historical events ........................................................................... 46! 3.12 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 48! 4. Culture .................................................................................................................................... 51! 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 51! 4.2 Latvian cultural expression .............................................................................................. 51! 4.3 Language .......................................................................................................................... 67! 4.4 Religion ............................................................................................................................ 76! ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 4.5 Building Latvian identity................................ .................................................................. 81! 4.6 Russian-speaking minority ............................................................................................... 84! 4.7 National cultural policy .................................................................................................... 86! 4.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 89! 5. Law ......................................................................................................................................... 91! 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 91! 5.2 Applicable law and government ....................................................................................... 92! 5.3 Judiciary ......................................................................................................................... 102! 5.4 EU law in Latvia ............................................................................................................. 107! 5.5 International law in Latvia ............................................................................................. 112! 5.6 Private law ...................................................................................................................... 113! 5.7 Rule of law ..................................................................................................................... 117! 5.8 Public opinion ................................................................................................................ 120! 5.9 Fundamental human rights ............................................................................................. 121! 5.10 Human rights in practice .............................................................................................. 129! 5.11 Women’s rights and situation ....................................................................................... 147! 5.12 Organised crime ........................................................................................................... 156! 5.13 Law enforcement services ............................................................................................ 157! 5.14 Corruption in Latvia ..................................................................................................... 158! 5.15 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 168! 6. Politics .................................................................................................................................. 171! 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 171! 6.2 National politics ............................................................................................................. 171! 6.3 Latvia’s foreign affairs ................................................................................................... 186! 6.4 Towards EU membership ............................................................................................... 205! 6.5 Overview of the first years as an EU Member State ...................................................... 214! 6.6 Public opinion ................................................................................................................ 231! 6.7 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................
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