Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Society

Anne Brasseur and Edgars Rinkevics. Riga, 27.04.2015. Photo: flickr.com

Edgars Rinkevics pledged Latvia’s support for the activities of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly, emphasising their significant role in the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Europe. The Foreign Minister, on behalf of the Latvian members of the PACE, also gave thank for the good ongoing cooperation with the PACE President’s Office.

Anne Brasseur congratulated Latvia on a very successful Presidency of the EU Council, especially in view of the current global challenges – the crisis in Ukraine, radicalisation and terrorism, and migration.

Foreign Minister Rinkevics confirmed that the EU was sparing no effort to address questions related to migration and was taking a comprehensive approach, not forgetting development cooperation policy instruments.

The Minister commended the PACE’s decisive action in imposing sanctions against the delegation of the Russian Federation on the PACE, thereby condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and called on all Council of Europe (CoE) structures to continue working actively to facilitate the improvement of the condition of Crimean Tatars and assist Ukraine with reforms. The Minister also noted that the Latvian Government intends to sign the so-called Istanbul Convention (Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence): this task has been included in the Government Action Plan approved in February.

Anne Brasseur is in Latvia on an official visit from 26 to 28 April and is meeting with the members of the Saeima (the Latvian Parliament), including the Speaker of the Saeima, Ināra Mūrniece, as well as with the Minister of the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis, and representatives from the Ombudsman’s Office and NGOs.

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and currently has 47 member states. The Council is dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy, and rule of law. The PACE is one of the major institutions of the Council of Europe and is made up of parliamentarians from CoE member states who meet on a regular basis.