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A year has passed since Latvia became a full-fledged member state of the European Union (EU). This time has been a school year for us âÀ“ we have gained practical experience and understanding of how the EU works, how we should represent our interests in negotiations with EU institutions and the other 24 member states. We have completed institutional adjustments in Latvia and developed a coordination system to ensure more successful work in the EU. The next task is to use this new experience practically to ensure better and more efficient use of the means available to member states for protection of their interests, where the negotiating and convincing skills are more important than the size of member states or number of votes in the Council. Latvian diplomats must learn the complex art of EU lobbying, where both the member states and EU institutions are involved. I would like to invite also social partners and the non-governmental sector to actively participate in this complex mechanism of negotiations, in order to contribute to the adoption of decisions that meet LatviaâÀ™s interests. By becoming a member state, we have acquired rights and advantages âÀ“ we participate as equal partners in EU decision-making, we can influence the EUâÀ™s foreign policy, we have gained a greater importance and recognizability in the world. At the same time, it also means greater responsibility and new tasks, since Latvia is jointly responsible for many global processes we were not involved in before, e.g., EU development policy for developing countries. We have ascertained that accession to the EU has not reduced LatviaâÀ™s independence and sovereignty âÀ“ on the contrary, we now have the possibility to influence decisions and processes. EU membership has not significantly affected everyday lives of people, contrary to concerns raised before the referendum. Besides the possibility to participate in EU decision-making, Latvia has also received significant support from EU funds. Thus we have invested much more in the development of our country, which will bear fruit in the future. In the countryside of Latvia the improvements can be observed first. Also, we can enjoy the advantages of the EU single market: it is easier to export Latvian goods, travel, study abroad etc. After the accession to the EU we have also encountered other issues, like the activities of several member states to restrict the free movement of labour and services. However, there is no problem without a solution âÀ“ Latvia together with other member states is working on the new EU Services Directive. Several weak points have emerged on our side âÀ“ lack of human resources, delays in introduction of EU directives, shortage of Latvian interpreters in Brussels. These and other tasks will have to be solved to eliminate these shortcomings.
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