News

RIGA, March 13 (LETA) - The planned consolidation of the 2011 state budget is not a goal in and of itself, but Latvia must keep in mind its resolution to meet the Maastricht criteria next year so the country could introduce the euro, as Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) said at a meeting of the political association Unity yesterday that was held to establish the association's Riga branch.

RIGA, March 1 (LETA) - Today, a nationwide census drive will begin throughout Latvia.

This is the first nationwide census carried out in the country since it joined the European Union.

The census will go on until May 31, during which information will be gathered on residents and their homes.

At 11 a.m., a press conference will be held at the "Avalon Hotel", during which Economy Minister Artis Kampars (Unity) and the Central Statistical Bureau's head Aija Zigure will inform about the census and its impact on the development of Latvia's economy.

It is planned that the results of the census will be summarized in 2012 and published in 2013.

RIGA, Feb 18 (LETA) - It is necessary to make use of Nordic-Latvian cooperation potential, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said today after a meeting with Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) in Riga.

Reinfeldt noted successful cooperation between Latvia and Sweden, and emphasized that Latvia is a serious and reliable partner. Reinfeldt went on to say that Sweden understands Latvia's current situation because it faced similar economic problems and painful decisions in the 1990s.

Reinfeldt highly appreciated what Latvia has done so far to overcome the crisis.

RIGA, Feb 16 (LETA) - Today, during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis (Unity), OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebek urged Latvia to allow non-citizens to vote in municipal elections.

Kristovskis in his turn pointed out that the rights to vote must belong to citizens and that a part of society does not want to vote or become citizens due to additional obligations towards the state. Kristovskis believes that if non-citizens will be granted the rights to vote in municipal elections, they will not be interested in naturalization.

RIGA, Feb 4 (LETA) - Last year, approximately LVL 1.227 billion worth of pensions was paid out by the state, or 14.7 percent more when compared to 2009, Edite Olupe, head of the State Social Insurance Agency's Public Relations Department, told LETA.

Last year, the average pension in Latvia was LVL 182.39, compared to LVL 178.44 in 2009.

In 2010, there were also more people receiving pensions - 475,866, compared to 473,330 in 2009.

RIGA, Feb 1 (LETA) - Yesterday, Corruption Prevention Bureau (CPB) officers detained a high-ranking Finance Ministry official for bribing a State Revenue Service official. The latter was paid over EUR 50,000 to shirk his duties in control of contraband and tax paying, also to ignore wrongdoing on the part of others.

Even though the CPB does not reveal the suspect's identity, as sources imply LETA, he is long-time State Revenue Service and current Finance Ministry official, Vladimirs Vaskevics.

RIGA, Jan 25 (LETA) - Two persons detained this morning for armed robbery in a Jekabpils gaming hall are former State Police employees, who were previously suspended from their jobs in another criminal case, and a third detainee is an employee at the police response unit "Alfa", Interior Ministry's spokeswoman Gunta Skrebele informed LETA.

Official investigation will be carried out at the State Police's Zemgale Region Administration, where the two former police officers were employed.

RIGA, Jan 24 (LETA) - Total central government and local government debt in 2010 increased LVL 785.92 million or 18.3 percent, reaching LVL 5.08 billion at the end of last year, according to State Treasury's information.

Latvia's internal debt was LVL 796.05 million at end-December, or 111.9 million less than at the beginning of 2010. External debt, on the other hand, was LVL 4.146 billion - LVL 885.2 million more than at the beginning of last year.

TALLINN, Jan 22 (LETA--AFP) - Nordic nations on Friday invited the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to join a body that aims to smooth cooperation among the region's armed forces, the Estonian military said.

Lieutenant Commander Ingrid Muehling told AFP that the Baltic trio were formally asked to join NORDEFCO at the close of a two-day meeting of army leaders in the Estonian capital Tallinn.

RIGA, Jan 18 (NOZARE.LV) - Today, joint-stock ''Citadele banka'' repaid EUR 46.6 million (LVL 32.8 million) deposit to the Finance Ministry six months before the repayment term, as the bank informed the business information portal ''Nozare.lv''.

''Citadele banka'' board chairman Juris Jakobsons points out that one of the bank's main priorities is the repayment of the state aid provided to the bank as soon as possible, which is being done. ''Thanks to the hard work of ''Citadele banka'' branches and the loyalty of our clients, we have been able to achieve better results than previously planned,'' said Jakobsons.