On 1 and 2 June, the plenary meeting of the LIII COSAC (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union) will gather in Riga nearly 300 European parliamentarians, including members of the European Parliament, as well as high public officials and experts on European affairs. This will be one of the six events hosted by the Saeima within the framework of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, has accepted the invitation of the Latvian Rotary Club Chapter Rīdzene to become patroness of the benefit concert for Ukrainian children. Proceeds and donations from the Children of War concert on 6 July at the Dzintari Concert Hall will be used for Ukrainian children’s relief. All members of the Saeima will be invited to attend the event.  

On Thursday, 7 May, the Saeima endorsed the concept of the proposed Repatriation Law aimed at encouraging citizens of Latvia, as well as people of Latvian or Liv origin and their families to return to Latvia by offering them support for moving and settling in.

“Today we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, and we are fully committed to prevent this brutal history from ever repeating. Europe is witnessing ongoing Russia’s warfare in Ukraine which has already taken more than 6,000 lives. Therefore, we have to learn from the past – we should not leave Ukraine fighting alone. If we hesitate too long, we risk having much bigger conflict on our hands eventually,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 7 May, during her working visit to Poland where she participated in a discussion on the legacy and lessons learned from World War II in the context of European integration organised by the European Solidarity Centre.

On Wednesday, 6 March, in the European Parliament, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, and Mairead McGuinness, Vice President of the European Parliament, opened a photo exhibition 25 Moments… in honour of the 25th anniversary of the renewal of Latvia’s independence; the exhibition captures the most memorable events in Latvia in the period between the renewal of independence and the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“Even in the darkest hour people preserve the timeless values. Our escape from 50 years of oppression and stagnation attests to that. We were capable of demanding and regaining freedom. Most of the Latvian people, along with the country’s ethnic minorities, desired to restore Latvia as a democratic European nation state,” emphasised Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Monday, 4 May, in her address at the ceremonial sitting of the Saeima at the Latvian National Theatre in honour of the 25th anniversary of the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia.

On Monday, 27 April, concluding the 5th Youth Parliament, the young people who were particularly active in sectoral committees and took the initiative in discussions on draft declarations of the Youth Parliament were awarded the title of the Future Politician.