On Tuesday 16 January, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Action Plan of the Government headed by Evika Siliņa, which includes specific measures and deliverables related to priority activities of this government – Latvia – a prosperous, safe and inclusive country with its own ethnic identity, which is able to develop sustainably during demographic, climate, technology and digital change.
The activities set forth the Action Plan comply with the priorities, objectives and targets already included in the National Development Plan of Latvia (NDP) and other policy planning documents. The government’s social and cooperation partners, as well as civil society, were also involved in developing the Government Action Plan.
The priorities set out in the Declaration of the Government headed by Evika Siliņa include welfare, security and national defence, as well as the promotion of residents’ sense of belonging to Latvia. The Government Declaration also defines other important objectives, such as health care reform, raising the quality of education, supporting entrepreneurship, environment protection and regional development.
The Government Action Plan provides for the implementation of about 269 measures, which are in line with 40 commitments made in the Government Declaration. It is planned to implement substantial reforms in various sectors, promoting the economic well-being and growth of Latvia and its people. The Government Action Plan is divided into three main priorities.
Prosperous Latvia
The broadest set of measures is intended to develop Latvia into a strong and prosperous country – a total of 130 measures. As in the Declaration on the Intended Activities of the Government, the Government Action Plan also demonstrates that Latvia’s sustainable development is based on a harmonious combination of social, environmental and economic policies.
The development of a strong and innovative economy lays the foundations for prosperous Latvia. The planned activities focus on economic development, promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainability, improvement of the education system, as well as strengthening of regional development and infrastructure. To further develop higher value products and services, it is planned to support large investment projects and start-ups in their development. The measures are also planned to develop new products, services and technologies in cooperation between entrepreneurs and scientific institutions. In addition, in order to strengthen cooperation between research organisations, the implementation of platform projects will be launched, which will contribute to the implementation of commerce-oriented research in line with the state and industry demand.
In order to meet the labour demand required to ensure entrepreneurship development, 10500 low-skilled workers will be provided with re-training, as well as a coordinated human capital management system will be established, thus providing support to entrepreneurs and citizens to improve their skills.
In addition, the achievement of environmental and climate objectives is a horizontal priority of economic development in order to combat climate change and reduce GHG emissions caused by national economy. In addition to the planned green activities in the sectors, an IT solution will be developed to aid the economic development process management for well-informed and data-based decision-making to achieve the climate neutrality objective by 2050.
Regional development is based on the measures for the development of public business infrastructure in municipalities and for the construction of at least four industrial parks and territories of national importance in regions. It is also envisaged to attract investment (at least EUR 77 million) for planning regions, municipalities and the non-governmental sector for the socio-economic development of the regions. In addition, the EEA project “Business Support Measures in Latgale Planning Region” will be implemented in Latgale Planning Region in order to provide support to increase employment and competitiveness by implementing region-specific activities.
The focus is also on financing of innovative and future-oriented public services to ensure that future generations enjoy a progressive, prosperous and high-quality living environment.
It is planned to develop a single public service and data portal Business.gov.lv. for entrepreneurs in parallel with comprehensive tax administration and shadow economy mitigation measures with a view to boosting the efficiency of the public administration services provided to entrepreneurs. Measures are also envisaged to increase labour supply and develop the financial sector.
Safe Latvia
In the interest of Latvia’s security, the Government Action Plan includes almost 60 measures aimed at strengthening national security, maintaining the Euro-Atlantic foreign policy course unchanged, as well as providing support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression. The Government Action Plan foresees the increasing of the national defence budget to 3 % of GDP by 2027, strengthening the structure and combat capabilities of the National Armed Forces (NBS), reinforcing the civil protection system, promoting the young people’s patriotic awareness, as well as enhancing border security and improving the infrastructure.
In order to enhance the firepower of battlegroups and their ability to affect the medium and long-distance targets, a variety of equipment will be purchased, incl. a contract will be concluded for the acquisition of anti-ship missile systems - Naval Strike Missiles. It is also planned to develop an infrastructure that complies with NATO standards and to ensure the implementation of NATO defence plans, as well as to launch anti-mobility measures in the border area, including the construction of support infrastructure and many other measures to improve the national defence capabilities.
The Action Plan also highlights the support for Ukraine, increasing energy efficiency, strengthening the media environment, increasing cybersecurity skills and anti-corruption measures. In addition, it is planned to establish a Crisis Management Centre, which will perform the crisis management functions in the event of a civilian crisis, while in the event of a military crisis, the support function will be provided to the Ministry of Defence.
Inclusive Latvia with its own ethnic identity
The Government Action Plan envisages a set of measures to make Latvia even more inclusive and Latvian – a total of 82 measures. In order to strengthen citizens’ sense of belonging and common well-being, it is planned to promote the inclusion of all social groups, preservation of the Latvian linguistic environment, language and culture, social protection and even more. The plan includes the measures to provide teaching of the Latvian language to adults, support for the cultural sector, strengthening of cultural education and support measures for the transition of the school system to learning in the official language.
The Government Action Plan highlights the well-being of children, people with special needs and families, the development of the health and sport sectors, as well as the development of digital infrastructure, incl. improvement of the system of protection of children’s rights, development of new services for children and young people with behavioural risks or risks of addiction, including equal state-funded health care services for all residents of Latvia.
In addition, the work on the reduction of violence and hate crime will be continued, including the development and launch of an electronic monitoring system in order to practically reduce the likelihood of violence against persons subjected to violence, as well as a system for monitoring violence based on evidence and common methodology. This includes the development of an integrated approach to child protection, including through the establishment of structures and processes that provide effective and child-friendly support. These and many other measures included in the Action Plan are part of the broader objective of building a cohesive and inclusive society.
This Action Plan demonstrates the government’s commitment to building a safer and economically stronger state, ensuring sustainable development and prosperity for its citizens. The use of a sustainable approach to various policy areas will contribute to Latvia’s security and economic well-being, as well as enhance social cohesion and cooperation. The amount of funding and specific measures will be determined in line with the annual state budget.
In order to ensure successful implementation of the adopted Government Action Plan, all institutions must submit to the State Chancellery up-to-date information on the implementation of the tasks within their scope of competence before 1 February and 1 August each year. In 2024, the authorities will submit the first report on the implementation of measures included in the Government Action Plan to the State Chancellery by 15 April. The State Chancellery will post the collected information on the implementation of the Government Action Plan on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers.