On Wednesday, 7 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, opened the conference on “Parliamentarism in Latvia: Lessons from History and Future prospects” by stating that the Constitution of Latvia is an important and integral part of our legal culture; it has provided a stable legal foundation for a democratic parliamentary republic, and it still is the cornerstone of successful functioning of our state.
Press releases
The Saeima marks the 90th anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution and the convening of the 1st Saeima (07.11.2012.)
On 7 November, to mark the 90th anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution and the convening of the 1st Saeima , Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, invited to the Saeima all of the former speakers of the Latvian parliament since the restoration of independence – Anatolijs Gorbunovs, Speaker of the Supreme Council and the 5th Saeima; Ilga Kreituse and Alfreds Čepānis, speakers of the 6th Saeima; Jānis Straume, Speaker of the 7th Saeima; Ingrīda Latimira (formerly Ūdre), Speaker of the 8th Saeima, as well as Indulis Emsis and Gundars Daudze, speakers of the 9th Saeima.
Saeima ratifies the agreement on establishment of functional airspace block between Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway (01.11.2012.)
On Thursday, 1 November, the Saeima in the final reading adopted the law that ratifies the Agreement on the Establishment of the North European Functional Airspace Block between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Latvia and the Kingdom of Norway (NEFAB), which ensures that from now on, air navigation services will be more cost-efficient for Latvian airlines, flights will be safer and the environment will suffer less harm once airspace fragmentation has been eliminated.
The Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary will come on an official visit to the Saeima (25.10.2012.)
On 25 and 26 October of this year, Latvia will receive an official visit by László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, and Alpár Gyopáros, Vice-chairman of the Hungarian–Latvian Group of the National Assembly of Hungary.
“Latvia and Hungary share opinions on many topics, so we are interested in mutual consultations in significant areas such as the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework, the future of Europe, defence issues and enlargement of the OECD,” pointed out Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 25 October, when meeting with László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, who is on an official visit to Latvia.
School programme “Meet the Saeima” is launched (19.10.2012.)
On Friday, 19 October, in the Riga English Grammar School, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, in her presentation on the Saeima’s work launched a new project of the Latvian parliament – the school programme “Meet the Saeima”.
European Affairs Committee: The EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework should be oriented towards growth (19.10.2012.)
On Friday, 19 October, during the discussion on topical issues of the EU agenda, members of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima and Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development, agreed that the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework should be oriented towards growth by ensuring smart investments in education and research, and involvement of national parliaments in the decision-making process of the EU should be enhanced.
A year since the 11th Saeima convened (18.10.2012.)
On 17 October a year ago, the 11th Saeima, which was elected in extraordinary general election, convened for its first plenary sitting.
“Knowledge attained through a high-quality education process is a key that opens ever new doors; it is a treasure that no one can take away from us. Educated people pave the way to Latvia’s success,” pointed out Solvita Ābotiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, when addressing the academic staff, students and alumni of the Riga Technical University (RTU) at the ceremonial sitting in honour of the university’s 150th anniversary.
Kalniņa-Lukaševica at the COSAC meeting: We should not stop halfway in changing EU economic governance (16.10.2012.)
“A crisis is the best time to undertake systemic structural changes, and Latvia clearly attests to that. Recently, significant changes have been introduced in the economic governance of the European Union as well, and we should not stop halfway,” pointed out Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima, on 16 October in Cyprus at the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC).