With deep sadness, we announce the passing of the Member of Saeima, long-time diplomat and politician Mr Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš.

The next year’s draft budget is balanced and includes additional funding for various sectors. It includes not only funding to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, but also offers solutions for the healthcare and social security sectors, said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 14 October, upon receiving the traditional portfolio containing next year’s draft budget from Jānis Reirs, Minister of Finance.

Latvia and Estonia are united by a joint vision on important regional and international affairs, and our common objective is to promote the safety, prosperity and development of the Baltic region, said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on 14 October during her meeting with Alar Karis, President of Estonia.

Latvia and Ukraine are closely linked. Today, Ukrainians are experiencing Russian aggression most severely and are literally on the front lines, and we will continue offering a helping hand and providing practical aid. This was emphasised by Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, during her working visit to Kiev while meeting Ukrainian Parliament officials.

The situation near the Belarusian border is not a migrant crisis, but rather a hybrid attack, systematically planned and organised by the Lukashenko regime. It is not an attack merely against Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, but also against the entire European Union and its value system, stressed Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on 6 October, during a discussion of the heads of national delegations to PACE, dedicated to the role of regional cooperation in the context of hybrid threats.

The Council of Europe must follow the developments concerning the displacement of foreign nationals near the EU-Belarusian border organised by the Lukashenko regime, stressed Inese Lībiņa‑Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday, 30 September, at the PACE session in Strasbourg.

On Thursday, 23 September, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Postal Law and the related draft laws in order to execute tighter control of suspicious postal items, especially items containing narcotic drugs, and to extend the capacity of the State Revenue Service (SRS) to carry out more effective control of such items.

On Thursday, 23 September, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Saeima Election Law and amendments to the Electoral Register Law, which provide for the establishment of an online electoral register.

On Thursday, 23 September, the Saeima adopted a new Law on the Bank of Latvia, which will stipulate the operation of the central bank of Latvia following its merger with the Financial and Capital Market Commission.

Closing her official visit to the Kingdom of Sweden, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, participated in the traditional Baltic Day festival in the Sollentuna ethnographic centre on 18 September.