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Following a meeting with President Raimonds Vejonis yesterday, Rimsevics said that the meeting had been "very interesting and impressive", adding that the president was interested in everything that dealt with the economic development of Latvia and the country's growth prospects.

"The most important part is that the Latvian economy is growing and developing, and it should not be damaged by badly-thought-out decisions," added Rimsevics.

The crisis in Latvia is over, there is a certain feeling of relief, but some ministries still want to spend more money than they should, noted Rimsevics. He also said he was pleased that EUR 500 million for new policy initiatives was no longer on the government's agenda.

"There have been talks about various options, for instance, raising VAT, which I believe would be the greatest and worst mistake, as no other country, except Greece, is considering this. To raise VAT is a desperate move and last resort as, in a way, it is a matter of national security," stressed Rimsevics.

According to the President's Press Office, during the meeting with Vejonis yesterday, Rimsevics said that no populist proposals should be included in the 2016 state budget.

Rimsevics and Vejonis agreed that taxes should not be changed in 2016. A stable and predictable tax policy is very important at the current pace of the economic development of Latvia, said Rimsevics.

As reported, the Bank of Latvia estimates that Latvia's economic growth will be 2% this year. As the external environment improves, Latvia's gross domestic product in 2016 could increase 3%. The central bank's inflation forecast for this year is 0.7%.