Responsibility for energy policy is fragmented in Latvia - Levits

RIGA - Responsibility for energy policy is fragmented in Latvia, and Latvia lacks common approach to how it should deal with this challenge in the long run, President Egils Levits said during a meeting with the Bank of Latvia Governor Martins Kazaks on Monday.

According to the President's Chancery, the meeting focused on current global and national economic outlook, including monetary and fiscal policy measures to curb the inflation.

Levits and Kazaks both stressed that European energy crisis has become the main driver of inflation and Latvia needs viable energy solutions.

Kazaks supported Levits' view that the new government should come up with a strategy for better national energy policy and appoint officials responsible for relevant policies. Energy will be a crucial factor for Latvia's growth and business competitiveness in the coming years. There is also lack of common approach to labor policy, Kazaks added.

Levits and Kazaks also discussed how Latvian financial institutions are coping with debt acquired during 2008 financial crisis. Consumers who are not able to pay back loans from 2008 crisis, in the remaining two months of the 2022, can ask lenders to cancel their loans. Several thousands have already applied for the loan cancellation and more than EUR 100 million have been written off, allowing debtors go back into legal economy.