Employment, Estonia, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies

The project "Promotion of Cross-border Labor Market Integration and Employment" will seek to help people find jobs and employers find employees in the Valka-Valga border area. A study of the local business environment and labor force demand and supply will be carried out along with different activities for the jobless, job seekers, employers and employees.

Reirs said that in a post-crisis Latvia it was important to prevent people from leaving the country and stability was the main pre-condition for this. It does not matter whether a Latvian has a job in Valga in Estonia or an Estonian works in Valka in Latvia - the main thing is that those people do not have to emigrate.

The minister also said that sometimes having a look at what happens in "the neighbor's garden" can give one insight about how to tackle this or that problem.

Evita Simsone, the head of the Latvian State Employment Agency, said the project under the INTERREG Estonia - Latvia program will be implemented jointly by the Latvian State Employment Agency, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund and the local governments of Valka and Valga towns.

She said that the Latvian and Estonian employment authorities have already been cooperating closely, in particular in Valka/Valga where crossing the border was a daily routine for local residents.