Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation

Francois Hollande and Valdis Dombrovskis. Paris, 19.04.2013. Photo: flickr.com

During negotiations, V.Dombrovskis informed in detail his French colleagues about the economic development indicators of Latvia, emphasizing that Latvia confidently fulfils all the Maastricht criteria. F.Hollande welcomed the fact that Latvia will soon join the euro area, becoming an active and responsible member state of the euro area. “Accession of another Baltic state to the euro area will be a great signal from a geopolitical point of view,” said F.Hollande. V.Dombrovskis and F.Hollande were of the same opinion that this step will also help deepen the economic cooperation between the two countries.

J.M.Ayrault stressed that Latvia’s accession to the euro area will be beneficial for both sides, providing additional impetus for economic development in Latvia, as well as a positive signal for partners around the world about increasing confidence in the single European currency.

Both the President and the Prime Minister of France appreciated Latvia’s achievements in overcoming the consequences of the financial crisis, the recovered competitiveness and stable growth. 

V.Dombrovskis, F.Hollande and  J.M.Ayrault also discussed the bilateral relations between Latvia and France, emphasizing that, in view of the fact that France is the world’s second largest economy, there are great opportunities for the two countries to expand trade. Currently, France is the 19^th most important trading partner of Latvia. The officials mentioned transport, logistics and tourism as the sectors with a great potential to deepen the economic cooperation between Latvia and France. F.Hollande and V.Dombrovskis welcomed the initiative to organize a visit for French entrepreneurs to Latvia next year to familiarize themselves in detail with the opportunities for cooperation offered by Latvia.

During the meeting, F.Hollande expressed gratitude to Latvia for its involvement and support in resolving the Mali situation by sending the armed forces’ instructors who will be responsible for training the Mali forces. V.Dombrovsis highly appreciated the French support to extension of the Baltic Air Policing Mission during the recent NATO summit in Chicago.

Today, V.Dombrovskis met the Association of Entrepreneurs in France MEDEF with more than 800 000 large, small and medium enterprises, representing all sectors. During the meeting, the executives of such companies as Alstom, EADS France, EUTELSAT, GEFCO, Nexter Systems, Sofema Groupe, Systra etc. confirmed their interest in fostering closer cooperation with Latvia and had a detailed discussion with the Prime Minister on the opportunities in different sectors of economy in Latvia. V.Dombrovskis called on the French entrepreneurs to consider the implementation of investment projects in Latvia, while Thierry Courtaigne, Vice-President of  MEDEF stressed that this is the right time for French entrepreneurs to focus attention on Latvia, because Latvia is one of the first countries in Europe where the crisis is overcome and which has returned to steady growth.