EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate

The Economy Ministry was given three weeks to present its proposals for utilization of the area allotted for Latvia at "World Expo" fair.

As reported, the government decided last week to reject Economy Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola's (Greens/Farmers) proposal to cancel Latvia's participation in the event, and allocated additional EUR 1.6 million to cover the costs of Latvia's participation.

Reizniece-Ozola told the media yesterday that she still objected the idea, saying that Latvia's participation in "World Expo 2015" would cost far too much – EUR 7.3 million in total. Furthermore, the minister said that the preparation period has been too short and tense in order to successfully implement the project.

The minister indicated that the Economy Ministry has received the final offer from the Swiss company Adunic AG, which is determined to build the Latvian Pavilion for about EUR 3.1 million.

"The company is ready to build the Latvian Pavilion, however, I still believe that Latvia must withdraw from the event," Reizniece-Ozola stressed.

The construction of the Latvian Pavilion for "World Expo 2015" is to be entrusted to the Swiss company Adunic AG for EUR 3.1 million, the Swiss company is also building the German and Austrian pavilions for "World Expo", as Reizniece-Ozola announced at a press conference last Wednesday.