The most important instruments of foreign policy for Latvia and Finland are shared values and interests, President of Finland Alexander Stubb said in an address to MPs at an extraordinary sitting of the Saeima on Tuesday, 16 September. Stubb emphasised the security environment in our region, calling on parliamentarians through their actions to ensure that our common interests are upheld.

Members of Parliament from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have sent a jointly signed letter to Members of the United States (U.S.) Congress, expressing their gratitude to the U.S. Congress for its longstanding and significant support for the security of the Baltic states. The Baltic parliamentarians call on the U.S. Congress to continue allocating funding for the Baltic Security Initiative.

On Tuesday, 9 September, in Paris, Deputy Speaker of the Latvian Parliament and Chair of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, presided over a meeting of the Committee focusing on recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Spain. The Committee also considered an assessment report on the functioning of democratic institutions and the rule of law in Hungary, expressing concern over the shrinking space for independent media and civil society.

“Despite the continued aggression by Russia, Latvian society remains tireless and unwavering in its support for Ukraine,” underlined Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa on Friday, 29 August, addressing her colleagues from the Baltic and Nordic countries at the annual NB8 Speakers’ Meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

On Tuesday, August 26, parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea region agreed on strategic directions for addressing security, climate, and democracy challenges. During the conference, they also discussed geopolitical challenges, energy security, protection of critical infrastructure, youth engagement, environmental protection, and sustainability. 

At the opening of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) in the Åland Islands on Monday, 25 August, Antoņina Ņenaševa, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, called on parliamentarians to take decisive and joint action against Russia's ‘shadow fleet’ in the Baltic Sea. “I call for action and a shift from discussions to concrete measures," said Ņenaševa, stressing that the destruction of the environment should not be viewed as an environmental problem, but as a matter of our common security.

“For three and a half years, the barbaric occupying army has brutally sought to seize the lands of the Ukrainian people and has filled its skies with drone and missile attacks. Yet we believe that very soon the people of Ukraine will free themselves from the enemy’s clutches and celebrate their freedom every single day. But for that to happen, we—Ukraine’s friends and supporters—must do everything in our power to ensure that peace talks are fair and balanced. The aggressor, who has violated every moral and legal principle, must be duly punished,” said Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, at the event “Sunflower Path” by the Latvia Freedom Monument to celebrate the Independence Day of Ukraine on Tuesday, 24 August. 

On the occasion of the 36th Anniversary of the Baltic Way, honouring its historical significance when Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians joined hands to oppose the Soviet occupation regime by creating a human chain spanning more than 600 kilometres connecting the capitals of the Baltic States, the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly (BA) on Friday the 22nd of August adopted a statement on the ongoing shared responsibility to protect freedom of Ukraine.   

On Friday, 22 August, heads of the Nordic and Baltic delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe—MPs from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland—held a meeting and signed a joint declaration affirming their unwavering commitment to ensuring peace, security, and democracy in Europe. 

Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, met with U.S. Republican Congressman Andrew Harris to discuss the continuation of the Baltic Security Initiative, the importance of the U.S. military presence for the security of NATO’s eastern flank, as well as the war in Ukraine, focusing on the return of abducted and deported Ukrainian children. Also present at the meeting was Saeima Secretary Edvards Smiltēns and Liene Dambiņa, Chair of the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Congressman Harris is in Latvia this week as part of a visit organised by the Saeima.