Two meetings of the parliamentary committee have led to nothing. Ahead - the third...
Today, the Saeima adopted a Declaration on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and domestic violence. Only the "Progressives" voted "against," dissatisfied that the Declaration aims to replace the notorious Istanbul Convention. Whether a political Declaration can replace an international document is, of course, an interesting question, but in any case, the majority of Saeima deputies remain determined to "end" the Istanbul Convention, that is, to adopt a bill to withdraw from it. However, credit must be given to the parliamentary majority in this case - deputies from the "New Unity" and "Progressives" factions. For the second week in a row, they have skillfully delayed the meeting of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee with various questions, requests, and comments. As a result, the debates on withdrawing from the convention in the committee lasted almost 4 hours over two meetings, and the voting on the adoption of the bill in the first reading did not take place.
The continuation of the discussion is now expected next Wednesday, and it is uncertain whether the deputies will manage to vote in the end... If the consideration of the bill continues at this pace, Latvia will not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention before the budget is adopted. This is the goal of the experienced politicians of "New Unity" - to first adopt the national budget, and then... whatever will be. Moreover, withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention does not pose any particular threat to Latvia.
