On Tuesday, 20 May, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, met with Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, to discuss Moldova’s path towards European integration and the challenges that may affect the Moldovan parliamentary elections scheduled for this autumn.

Cooperation between the Baltic States, Poland and the Nordic countries is becoming increasingly close in the face of the threat posed by Russia, said Edmunds Cepurītis, Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima, on Tuesday, 20 May. A meeting of the chairs of the European Affairs committees of the parliaments of the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Poland took place at the Saeima.

"A detailed regional strategy should be developed to strengthen the resilience of energy supply, communications and transport networks, including a concrete action plan for threat prevention, and this should be coordinated with national initiatives and existing European Union and NATO legal acts relating to the protection of critical infrastructure," said Andris Kulbergs, Chair of the Working Group on Energy Security, Self-Sufficiency, Resilience and Connectivity of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference.

On Tuesday, 20 May, the Saeima will host a meeting of the Chairs of the European Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the Baltic States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Poland.

At the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (hereinafter – the Assembly), held in Riga on 15–16 May, particular attention was devoted to developments in Hungary and Georgia. The Chair of the Monitoring Committee and Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, described the situation in several Council of Europe member states as cause for serious concern.

On Friday, 16 May, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Chair of the Saeima Group for Promoting Cooperation with the German Parliament, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, hosted Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at the Latvian Parliament.

To increase the current limits for farmers on the use of marked diesel fuel, the Saeima on Thursday, 15 May, adopted amendments to the Law on Excise Duty in the final reading under urgent procedure.

On Thursday, 15 May, the Saeima confirmed Aigars Strupišs as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, 15 May, as part of the Monitoring Committee session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (hereinafter – the Assembly) held in Riga, a public international seminar titled “Resilience and Preparedness of Civil Society in the face of Crises” took place. Opening the event, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Chair of the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, underlined the vital role that civil society plays both in times of crisis and in their prevention.

Today, 15 May, the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) begins its work in Riga under the chairmanship of Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima. As part of the session, the President of the Assembly, Theodoros Rousopoulos, is visiting Latvia.