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On Monday, 4 May, when Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, she said that Latvia holds in high esteem democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and regards it as an obligation to share its experience in achieving democratic reforms with European countries in which this process has just begun.

All people long to live in a better world where their fundamental rights and freedoms are respected. In this regard, historically Europe has a special mission, and the Council of Europe is a significant tool in realising this mission, indicated Āboltiņa. Latvia is also ready to share its reform experience with partner countries which have just chosen the path of democracy.

The Speaker was pleased by the election of Nils Muižnieks, Latvia’s candidate for the position of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, in the beginning of this year. Solvita Āboltiņa expressed conviction that the new commissioner’s knowledge and experience will be a great asset to the organisation and its member states.

When addressing the issue of the reforms of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland stated that in future it is planned to narrow the sphere of activity of the Council of Europe and to focus mainly on the organisation’s fundamental goals. Because a disproportionately high number of cases are addressed to the European Court of Human Rights, it is essential to improve the judiciary also in the member states of the Council of Europe and thus to reduce the number of complaints, said the Secretary General. Speaker Āboltiņa acknowledged that streamlining of the judiciary is also one of Latvia’s domestic priorities and that all countries have to do their best at the national level to provide its citizens with a timely and just trial. 

The Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that Latvia welcomes the reforms of the Council of Europe because they will result in the efficient use of available resources and effective work of the organisation; thus in this process, Secretary General Jagland can rely on the support of the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

With regard to social cohesion, Speaker Āboltiņa emphasised that since its founding in 1918, Latvia has been a multi-ethnic state in which diverse cultures coexist and people of diverse ethnicities live together peacefully. Latvia has only one official language; however, the state encourages its ethnic communities to develop their languages, cultures and traditions. “We are proud that Latvia is among those few European countries which provide state-funded education in eight languages,” said Āboltiņa.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe indicated that in Latvia one of the problematic issues is related to the disproportionate scope of parliamentary immunity. The Speaker admitted that over the course of time, the parliament had received several proposals for limiting the criminal and administrative immunity of MPs, but it has remained the same since the adoption of the Constitution in 1922. In order to amend the Constitution, support by a two-thirds majority of the parliament is necessary, but so far this convocation of the Saeima has also failed to get the number of votes necessary for limiting the scope of MPs’ immunity. 

Today the Secretary General of the Council of Europe also met with the members of the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is the oldest organisation in Europe that embraces nearly the entire continent of Europe and consists of 47 member states. The goal of the Council of Europe is to shape a common space in which its fundamental values – human rights, democracy and the rule of law – are observed and protected. Latvia became a member state of the Council of Europe in 1995.

Photos from the meeting are available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157630041052280/ 
Video from the meeting is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxvAV2L16vU&list=UUdQ1YxaZG3i7ygGCdU8mPKQ&index=1&feature=plcp
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.

Saeima Press Service