LATVIAN INSTITUTE FACT SHEET - NO.20. MARCH 25, 2009

PRIME MINISTER OF DOMBROVSKIS HOLDS THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE

Prime Minister Dombrovskis holds the first international press conference to describe new government’s priorities

To underline his commitment to transparency and clarity in regard to his government’s economic recovery program, Prime Minister held a press conference for international media in Latvia on March 24 th . Although this was the first time a Latvia’s Prime Minister has held such a wideranging meeting with accredited foreign journalists in Riga, V. Dombrovskis vowed it would not be the last. 32 journalists representing 20 media from 16 countries participated in the press conference, which a government spokesperson described as ‘a new tradition’ regular communication with local and foreign media representatives.

The Prime Minister described the new government’s priorities, including its ongoing austerity measures to reduce the budget deficit. He talked about his attendance at the meeting of the Council of the European Union in Brussels on 1920 March and touched upon his upcoming talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkle.

Journalist questions focused on economic and financial issues, proposed budget cuts, and the role that public opinion could play in response to government policies. V. Dombrovskis stressed that the President nominated a person from an opposition party for the post of the Prime Minister in order to ensure greater public support for this government and greater parliamentary support for the budget amendments. The application of wage cuts to ministers and top officials in government structures could also strengthen public support for painful budget cuts. The Prime Minister also pointed out two positive developments in Latvia’s financial sector: Latvia now has a positive current account balance, and an agreement has been reached with syndicated loan providers to Parex banka.

About Prime Minister of Latvia

On March 12, 2009, the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia approved the Government of Valdis Dombrovskis. V. Dombrovskis was selected to lead the new government by State President Valdis Zatlers. Until then V.Dombrovskis was a Member of the European Parliament elected from the list of the “New Era” Party. From November 2002 until March 2004, V.Dombrovskis served as Minister for Finance. Before entering politics, V.Dombrovskis worked for two years in the Monetary Policy Department of the . V.Dombrovskis has a Master’s degree in Physics, and from 1997 until 1998 studied in the doctoral programme at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Maryland.

1 Priorities of the Cabinet of Ministers:

• Reduction of the budget deficit, thus continuing the responsibilities assumed by the former Government to the European Commission (EC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to ensure the further receipt of the international loan and to halt the economic downturn. • Purposeful economic recovery, which includes: speedy and strategic support to competitive and promising business activities; support to those sectors of the economy which face difficulties and are important to the growth of Latvia; activities designed to increase labor productivity and create new jobs. • Ensuring reasonable support to the disadvantaged, reducing unemployment, and creation of a support system allowed by available budget funds. • Public support and involvement in overcoming the crisis, through cooperation with the social partners and informing society about the decisions made. • Adoption in the (parliament) of the amendments to the Constitution which give the people of Latvia the right to dissolve the Saeima if and when it loses public confidence.

Composition of the Cabinet of Ministers

The Government headed by V. Dombrovskis comprises the “New Era” Party, the People's Party, the Green and Farmers Union, the and the Union for “Fatherland and Freedom”/LNNK all of which have 64 votes in the Parliament.

For additional information please contact Zanda Šadre in the Communication Department of the State Chancellery:

Zanda Šadre Consultant Communication Department State Chancellery Phone: +371 67082919, +371 29120742 Email: [email protected]

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