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LATVIA in REVIEW December 27, 2011 – January 2, 2012 Issue 1

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LATVIA in REVIEW December 27, 2011 – January 2, 2012 Issue 1 LATVIA IN REVIEW December 27, 2011 – January 2, 2012 Issue 1 CONTENTS Government In New Year’s Speech, Dombrovskis Underscores Completion of Fiscal Consolidation In New Year’s Day Speech, President Bērziņš Calls for Stopping Emigration Latvian Political Parties to be Partly Funded from National Budget as of 2012 Economics Employment Figures for 2011 Suggest Positive Stability Bank of Latvia: Retail Slightly Up in November, Likely Due to Short-Term Factors Foreigners Invest EUR 175 Million in Latvia in Exchange for Residence Permits in 2011 Stores Selling Works by Latvian Artists, Designers Increase Sales in 2011 Foreign Affairs Latvian Prime Minister Made 25 Official Visits Abroad in 2011 Foreign Ministry Set to Launch Secretariat to Prepare for Latvia’s 2015 EU Presidency Several Presidents to Make Official Visits to Latvia Next Year Society Roman Catholic Archbishop Named European of the Year 2011 in Latvia Piece of Ancient Shipwreck Washed Ashore in Southwestern Latvia Media Name President’s Decision to Dissolve Parliament as Top Event of 2011 in Latvia Works of Latvian Artists to Feature in Chile’s Santiago a Mil Art Festival Articles of Interest Toronto Sun: “No Shortage of Support for Latvia” YouTube: The Miera iela District in Rīga Appmodo.com: “Mailboxing [by Latvian firm Asketic] for iPhone and iPad Now Available” Government In New Year’s Speech, Dombrovskis Underscores Completion of Fiscal Consolidation In his speech on New Year’s Eve, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis underscored that Latvia has overcome the financial crisis and called on people to take part in the upcoming referendum on the official language in Latvia, the Baltic News Service reported. According to the Rīga-based newswire, Dombrovskis said that we have a reason to feel that a good job has been done and the fiscal consolidation has been completed. “Tonight we can say with pride that the Latvian nation has acted wisely and considerately, has overcome the financial crisis and has renewed the national economic growth,” he was quoted as saying, pointing at the successfully completed financial assistance program. In the speech, Dombrovskis said he believes that Latvia's future now is much better than the future of many other European countries. “A tough, but significant stage in Latvia's history has been completed. We have to take these lessons with us in the future. Politicians may not make decisions that are good in a short term, but irresponsible in the long term. We have learned that we can achieve good results if we concentrate resources, act rationally and are ready for changes. The economy has been restructured, the budget has been arranged, the state administration has been downsized. We are 1 ready for further growth that will ensure the nation’s welfare. Today the future of our country is much more stable than in many other European countries,” he was quoted as saying. According to BNS, the prime minister also said that there is no reason to become self-conceited and work has to be done to ensure stable and sustainable economic growth in the future, avoiding another economic bubble. Dombrovskis also spoke about problems in the European Union (EU), BNS reported, saying that 2012 will decide the direction of its further development. “We have to work for Latvia to be together with those countries who will make the core of the future Europe. Latvia should support closer cooperation of European countries. Latvia's place is not in the suburbs of Europe, not on its Eastern bridge, but in the core leading Europe forward. Europe is Latvia's geopolitical environment and we have common values,” he was quoted as saying. BNS reported that the prime minister also invited all Latvian citizens to take part in the upcoming referendum, initiated after a signature collection campaign in support of Russian as a second state language, and show loyalty to the national identity of the Latvian state and Constitutional values. “The Latvian language is and will be the foundations of this identity as well as our trust in democracy and independence of the country. The referendum should prove that Latvia's basic values are important not only for Latvians, but also for those representatives of minorities who belong to this country. A united society is a measure of matured democracy. And it is an important pre-condition for Latvia's economic growth,” the prime minister was quoted as saying. The prime minister called on people to set goals for 2012 -- both private goals and goals for the country. “I call on each Latvian patriot to make at least one selfless deed to strengthen our country,” he was quoted as saying. Link to full text of speech: http://www.mk.gov.lv/en/aktuali/zinas/2011/12/311211-pm-01/. In New Year’s Day Speech, President Bērziņš Calls for Stopping Emigration Addressing the nation on the first day of 2012, Latvian President Andris Bērziņš noted the experiments with the Constitution experienced last year, as well as called on politicians to work on stopping emigration, the Baltic News Service reported. According to the Rīga-based newswire, the president said that economic shocks, which entail a drop in living standards and uncertainty about the future, create a fertile soil for internal strife and that in such atmosphere it is much easier to sow discord and create confrontation. “In 2011 we saw experiments with the basic law of our state – the Latvian Constitution. The proposal to dissolve parliament brought about legally and politically dangerous situations, but they did not threaten the foundations of the state and gave an opportunity to the people to make its own decisions. Meanwhile, the proposal to make Russian a second state language in Latvia is targeting the very foundations of the state and the core of the Constitution,” the president was quoted as saying. In his words, cited by BNS, the constitutional foundations of the Latvian state – its territory, language, and democracy can only be seemingly changed. “They have been written by our compatriots’ blood, to change them would mean to abolish this state and leave Latvians without Latvia,” Bērziņš was quoted as saying. According to BNS, the president himself is not going to take part in the forthcoming referendum on the state language in Latvia in February, because he considers this to be an absurd enterprise. In the New Year address to the nation, however, he said that it is up to the each citizen to decide whether to take part and how to vote in the referendum, but that a vote for another state language would amount to a vote against Latvia as a state, BNS reported. “Let’s think why this is happening now and who benefits from such a split in society. The two decades of independence have shown that Latvia is capable of becoming a state with a united 2 nation, but it is not enough to know the language to ensure integration and build a united nation. Shared values, mutual respect, human understanding, and tolerance are the foundation on which we must build Latvia’s future. If we are unable to agree, we will be replaced by others,” the Latvian president was quoted as saying. BNS also reported that Bērziņš identified a number of tasks for Latvia’s politicians, especially stressing the necessity to keep people from leaving Latvia in search of a better life in foreign countries. “Politicians and the state authorities must work to stabilize the country's finances, create a modern education system, facilitate businesses and entrepreneurship, but most importantly, to stop our people from leaving the country, because without people there will be no Latvia,” Bērziņš was quoted as saying. In his New Year speech, the president, who is a former banker, also touched upon issues in the banking sector. According to BNS, President Bērziņš believes that the sector's oversight is in need of improvement. “The shutdown of Latvijas Krājbanka [Latvian Savings Bank] is a striking example of how a bank of one system indirectly affects another, threatening to trigger panic in the whole banking sector. It is also prompting our state security and supervision institutions to reconsider their cooperation,” Bērziņš was quoted as saying, adding that responsibility for Latvijas Krājbanka lies with all institutions involved in ensuring the stability of the banking system. In conclusion, the president wished peace and harmony in every family, fulfillment of dreams and expectations, as well as health and strength to the people in 2012. Link to full text of speech: http://www.president.lv/pk/content/?cat_id=605&art_id=18947. Latvian Political Parties to be Partly Funded from National Budget as of 2012 As of 2012, political parties in Latvia will be partly funded from the national budget in line with amendments passed to the law on the financing of political organization, the Baltic News Service reported, citing information from the parliamentary press service. According to the Rīga-based newswire, public funding will be granted to those political parties that won more than 2 percent of votes in the last general elections. All six parties meeting the requirement have already applied for public funding, including LPP/LC, BNS reported, which has decided to disband. Andris Vitenburgs, a spokesman for the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), told BNS earlier that in line with the law a party that has become defunct is no longer eligible to public funding. KNAB is planning to release the first payment to the political parties by January 15, Vitenburgs told BNS. The eligible political parties will receive 50 santīms (EUR 0.71) per vote in government funding. According to BNS, the six parties eligible to co-funding from the national budget include the leftist pro-Russia Harmony Center, which won 28.4 percent of votes; the centrist Zatlers Reform Party (20.8%); the center-right Unity (18.8%); the nationalist conservative National Alliance (13.9%); the Greens and Farmers Union (12.2%); and LPP/LC, which failed to win seats in parliament, but with its 2.4 percent of votes is eligible to receive funding from the national budget.
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