EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia, Legislation, Security, Technology

Photo: flickr.com

Describing the achievements of Latvia's Presidency, Straujuma said she was pleased that "Latvia has done what we were expected to do, if not more, when responding to highly complicated developments." The main challenges Latvia faced dealt with the security in the EU and beyond, she added.

For this reason, the Latvian Presidency has been paying particular attention to European values, and put a lot of work into arriving at, together with the European Commission, the best possible draft legislation.

A lot of work also went into improving personal data protection on the Internet. "These are but a few examples. During the Latvian Presidency, we had a chance to present Latvia as a creative, talented, and hard-working country, cultural and very innovative," said the premier.

Straujuma is convinced that Riga will be still making headlines after Latvia's Presidency comes to a close – every time a particular project gets a mention. "I believe that this period has changed all of us. We started out well prepared, and we have learned invaluable experience. I believe that it will help to better protect Latvia's interests in the future," said the prime minister.

"The knowledge we have learned has to be used for the further development of the country," believes Straujuma. "The aim of the government is to improve the quality of life, but that is impossible without economic development."

As reported, the Latvian Presidency focused on three priorities: competitive Europe, digital Europe and engaged Europe.

Latvia took over the EU Presidency from Italy at the beginning of 2015, and will hand the Presidency over to Luxembourg at the end of June.