Cooperation, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation

The Latvian side highly appreciated the work by the NCM Office in Latvia towards practical Nordic-Baltic cooperation and the symbolic meaning of the office as the Nordic countries' presence in Latvia, LETA was informed by the Foreign Ministry's press and information department.

The sides lauded the successful Nordic-Baltic cooperation in the NB-8 format at the EU level, as well as when implementing joint NCM and Baltic programs in specific sectors. It was emphasized that it is necessary to develop this cooperation in the future as well. Rinkevics expressed Latvia’s interest in continuing actively participating in the current discussion on new NCM guidelines for cooperation with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania post-2013.

During the conversation, opinions were exchanged on the most important cooperation issues in the Baltic Sea Region, particularly noting the significance of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Rinkevics accentuated transport and energy as vital areas in which Baltic and Nordic countries should continue cooperating within the Strategy framework. The parties also discussed the NCM involvement in the implementation of the strategy and positively assessed the work of the European Humanities University of Belarus exiled in Vilnius.