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On Monday, 1 June, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, addressed the participants of the plenary meeting of the LIII COSAC (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union), which is held in Riga 1-2 June and gathers nearly 300 European parliamentarians, including members of the European Parliament, as well as high public officials and experts on European affairs. “The Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU is facing several challenges, including the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine and the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. These challenges are testing EU’s unity. Therefore, we had to react quickly during these six months. We and Europe as a whole had to respond swiftly to challenges such as the terrorist attacks in Paris, Belgium and Copenhagen, as well as the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine”, said the Speaker. 

Regarding aggression in Ukraine, the Speaker underlined that the EU must not lift sanctions against Russia as long as Russia continues to ignore the obligations under the Minsk Agreement. In this context, Mūrniece applauded the joint communication of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, and Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, which calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from Ukraine and urges the EU to strengthen its sanctions. The Speaker indicated that this is a good example of national parliaments acting as watchdogs for democratic values. 

Speaker Mūrniece noted that the Saeima is actively engaged in the discussions about possible solutions to the migration crisis and underlined the importance of involving society in seeking to resolve emergency situations. 

Mūrniece also pointed out that the EU is currently facing other challenges as well, such as youth unemployment and an economic slowdown. 

In conclusion, she stressed that when European nations join their efforts, they become stronger and can promote and protect their shared democratic values; desired results can be achieved only through joint action. Mūrniece expressed gratitude to all contributors of the Latvian Presidency for their support and constructive cooperation, emphasizing that it is a great achievement for Latvia to hold the EU presidency merely 25 years after regaining independence and to be restored to its rightful place on the map of Europe after being erased from it. 

The plenary meeting of the LIII COSAC is one of the events hosted by the Saeima within the framework of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU. 

A live stream of the meeting is available on the website of the Parliamentary Dimension of the Latvian Presidency at http://parleu2015.lv/en. For the programme of the meeting, please visit http://parleu2015.lv/files/cosac_plenary/en-draft-programme_cosac-plen-4.pdf.

Saeima Press Service