Latvija in brief - 2010-12-02

he Administrative Regional Court on Nov. 26 terminated the case concerning a complaint by former State Revenue Service (SRS) General Director Dzintars Jakans regarding his rotation in office, reports LETA. The court found that the disputed decision was the institution’s internal decision. The court also noted that when deciding on Jakans’ rotation, the Finance Ministry and Cabinet of Ministers had carried out their duties and listened to Jakans’ opinion, therefore, there were no signs that these institutions’ actions had infringed on Jakans’ human rights. On Feb. 2, Jakans was transferred from the SRS to head the Finance Ministry’s Customs and Tax Policy Administration Department.

In the third quarter this year, average monthly gross salary in Latvia was 447 lats (638.50 euros), which is 3 lats or 0.8 percent more compared to the second quarter, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s data, reports Nozare.lv. In the public sector, the average monthly salary grew by 0.1 percent, from 474 lats to 475 lats, but in the private sector - by 1.6 percent, from 423 lats to 430 lats. Compared to the third quarter of 2009, monthly average gross salary reduced by 1.9 percent, from 456 lats to 447 lats. In the Baltic states, the highest monthly average gross salary in the third quarter of this year was recorded in Estonia – 759 euros, whereas average monthly salary in Lithuania was 603 euros.

The European Ombudsman has not only accepted a petition protesting the situation in Latvian health care, signed by 54,000 residents of Latvia and sent to the European Ombudsman at the end of September, but also initiated an investigation, the daily Latvijas Avize reports. The petition complains about the situation in the Latvian health care system, stating that it does not comply with the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, Section 35 – “Everyone has the right of access to preventive health care and the right to benefit from medical treatment under the conditions established by national laws and practices. A high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Union policies and activities.”