While parliamentary commissions develop new amendments to the Law on
Local Governments to give the municipalities the right to set their
own restriction on alcohol retail, Prime Minister Andris Berzins
backed the minister for special assignments on public reforms, who
condemned the decision of four Latvian self-governments - Valmiera,
Olaine, Jelgava and Kekava - to the hours for alcohol retail in their
towns.
The ministry's letter, sent on May 22, requiring the heads of the
four municipalities to explain why they broke the law, is welcomed
and helps to overcome legal nihilism, said Berzins at his first press
conference at June 9.
The minister's letter pointed at the legal norms over-riding the
local rules on alcohol sales. Janis Kalvins, the minister's adviser,
said it was triggered by the minister's responsibility to annul
illegal decisions of subordinated bodies.
"The procedure was very correct. We did not ask the municipalities to
drop restriction on alcohol retail, but to explain their actions. The
minister was on the side of the law implementation," he said.
But from the response of the Valmiera Council, it comes to be clear
that the conflict rests on interpretation of the law.
Still, on June 2, the restrictions in effect in four Latvian towns
were repeatedly condemned and the towns' municipalities invited to
give them up at a discussion fostered by the Administration of the
Local Governments. Fatma Fridenberga, the administration's deputy
director, said all local governments admitted to acting illegally,
but none is going to release control of alcohol retail. "They did it
with society in mind. They had no other choice," she said.
"Until the amendments are approved by Parliament the municipalities
are not going to change anything. But from the legal point of view,
their decisions have no legal force," said Fridenberga.
Since the municipalities' decisions are recommendations and not
binding, any retailer is free to disobey them without threat of
administrative punishment.
But the matter of the legality of the municipalities' actions seem to
be forgotten for now, with the Parliament conceptually approving the
amendments for Law on Local Governments, and handing them to the
commissions for subsidiary review to pass them at the head of the
queue of impending bills on June 15.
The amendments to the Alcohol Circulation Law were declined
previously, because of the complicated nature of the amendment
process.
"It is a political decision. The political parties' factions, having
and lobbying their own economic interests, are eligible to submit and
develop their own version of amendments," said Fridenberga.
Recently, the major of Valmiera revealed the problems connected with
alcohol sales regulation, set here on Feb.1. Within four months of
the damp regime, the amount of illegal alcohol retail rose several
times compared to last year's figures for the same period.
"You cannot just restrict alcohol retail. It requires complex
measures," said Kalvins. "Still, the minister does not advocate its
liberalization. There was no basis for slamming the minister. But I
am glad it caused positive discussions [letter exchange] in society.
The minister's current conceptual position is to expand the powers of
the local heads."
Despite the harsh criticism the mayor of Valmiera received from the
ministry, he enjoys the support of the Valmiera community. A letter
supporting Kucinskis' decision with 937 local signatures, collected
by two persons in two days, went to President Vaira Vike-Freiberga
on June 1. The letter shows not only approval of Kucinskis' decision
limiting alcohol sales at night effective Feb.1, but also denounces
Krumins' response to the restrictions introduced by the
municipalities.
The same day the letter was sent, Vike-Freiberga admitted on the TV
show "4.studija" the priority of the spirit of the law over the
letter of the law, the opposite of Krumins' view.
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