Latvia finally forms a government
Latvia’s Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, has secured parliamentary support for his new three-party coalition, winning a third term as premier and a mandate to continue his policy.
The new government's priorities will include territorial reform, bolstering the national economy, continuing reforms for education and healthcare, rule of law, national security, and demography, according to the main ideas put forward by ministers in the new government, which will form the basis for the new government's declaration.
Pending coalition parties continue to work on the draft declaration; therefore the declaration can still change substantially.
The first version of the declaration includes 15 chapters that offer general definitions of the pending government's goals and objectives. For instance, the declaration's chapter on financial affairs emphasies the need to strengthen the national economy by pursuing responsible fiscal policy and revising budget expenditures, reducing the administrative burden on public and municipal institutions. The new government resolves to pursue predictable tax policy, increase the minimum wage, and bring non-taxable minimum closer to the minimum wage, as well as simplify application of labour taxes.
The draft declaration's chapter on defence says that the main goal of the national defence system is to ensure security and protection from conventional and unconventional threats. National security will be based on self-defence and collective defence, and comprehensive national defence will also ensure resilience to external influence.
The chapter on education and science lists the following priorities: access to quality and competitive education, increasing financing for science and research, improvements in lifelong education.
In transport, the new government will work on the development of smart transport policies and keep a close eye on implementation of the Rail Baltica railroad project.
The government's economic priorities will include exports, productivity, availability of labour, and achieving that the number of companies that export their service or products increases by 5,000.
The new government will continue Latvia's current foreign policy and ensure Latvia's active participation in international organisations, especially in the EU, NATO, and OECD.
