Latvija in brief - 2007-03-07

  • 2007-03-07
The government on March 6 authorized Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis to sign the border treaty with Russia. Three ministers from the nationalist For Fatherland and Freedom party voted against the measure as they found it unconstitutional. Kalvitis told reporters afterwards that the treaty, based on a 1997 agreement with Russia, would likely be signed on March 26 - 27. It is likely that Latvia's other co-signer will be President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

The Cabinet of Ministers on March 6 finally passed a series of measures aimed at curbing the country's runaway inflation. Measures include a balanced budget, increasing taxes on real estate transactions and personal income from such deals and battling the current lending boom by Latvia's banks. In order to go into effect, the plan will require a series of amendments to existing laws. Finance Minister Oskars Spurdzins said that implementing the plan would help bring down inflation to 2 's 3 percent by 2010-2011. Last year consumer prices rose 6.8 percent and are set to continue apace this year. The rate has sparked concerns that Latvia's currency will in the long-term lose its competitiveness and may need to be devalued.

Latvians are feeling more optimistic about life after EU accession, though many fear an erosion of their living standards as prices continue to increase, a new report by an international pollster shows. The report, carried out by GfK Custom Research, reflect attitudes in nine new EU member states. The percentage of Latvians who feel that life has improved since EU membership in 2004 jumped from 12 to 34 percent. What's more, 50 percent of Latvians feel that life will improve in the future. "The present and future growth in prosperity of a large enough group of people is proof of people's economic optimism," said Ilze Skruzkalne, director of GfK CR Baltic. "People's desire to buy goods and services is the best evidence of their optimism and confidence in the future."

A man, 32, was detained in connection with a deadly fire on March 3 in the town of Jelgava, police said. Two people died in the fire, which destroyed 600 meters of the roof of a two and a half story apartment building. Sixteen people 's including 10 children 's were rescued. Police initiated criminal proceedings for "destruction or damage of property by inadvertence which resulted in the death of a person," a charge that carries up to three years imprisonment. Police said the man has a criminal record.

Defense officials of the three Baltic states reached an agreement on joint purchases for their armies. In a March 5 meeting in Riga, state secretaries of the three defense ministries discussed the possibility of jointly purchasing air space monitoring radars, armored personnel carriers and ammunition. The Baltic states will regularly exchange information on their military purchase plans to better coordinate the possibility of joining them together. Military specialists of the three countries are due to continue discussions on joint purchases in late April or early May.