Although Saeima Speaker Daiga Mierina recently announced that the parliament will work during the summer if necessary, meaning that extraordinary sessions may be convened periodically, in reality, at least the second half of July and all of August will be non-working for the deputies.
It is unlikely that the Saeima presidium will manage to gather parliamentarians in the midst of the summer vacation period — even though the election campaign is in full swing.
Before the Vacation — Staff Reshuffle
One way or another, before the break, that is, before June 19, the deputies still have the opportunity to make certain politically sensitive decisions. But first, the servants of the people must complete... the staff reshuffle! Yes, the change of government and the ruling coalition has led to significant personnel changes in the parliament. The process of 'cleaning out' the 'Progressives' left in opposition began last Thursday when Antonina Nenashova lost her position as vice-speaker — she was, however, retained in the Saeima presidium but 'downgraded' to deputy secretary of the presidium. In turn, Linda Matisone from the current prime minister's United List took the vacant vice-speaker seat. Meanwhile, Janis Grasbergs from the National Alliance, who held the position of deputy secretary, was promoted to secretary of the presidium.
Today, the process of 'placing' former ministers of the Silinie government in leadership positions in the committees will begin. Former Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens ('New Unity') will be elected as the chair of the Saeima Committee on Economic Affairs. Ironically, he will replace another former minister — of communications, Kaspars Briškens ('Progressives'), who was dismissed from his ministerial position by Evika Siline a year and a half ago. By the way, Evika Siline herself will not remain without a position in the Saeima — she is expected to be elected as the head of the Committee on European Affairs. As a result, another 'Progressive' parliamentarian, Edmunds Cepuritis, will lose this position. His party mate Leila Rasima will lose her position as chair of the Human Rights Committee — this position is promised to former Justice Minister Inese Libine-Agner.
Former Minister of Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis from the Union of Greens and Farmers will head the Committee on Public Expenditures and Audits next week, displacing his coalition colleague Gatis Liepiņš from 'New Unity' from this position. It is possible that Liepiņš will be made the secretary of this committee, as the position of deputy chair has already been 'reserved' for former Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development Raimonds Čudars.
It is expected that today the committee will be headed by Aiva Viksna. Thus, the tradition that the budget committee is led by a representative of the ruling party will be preserved. At the same time, the position of deputy chair of the budget committee may be lost by the leader of the 'Progressives' party, Andris Šuvaevs. His place will be taken by Arturs Butans from the National Alliance.
It should be noted that all leadership positions in committees and subcommittees are paid, meaning they come with an additional salary on top of the base salary. Of course, all members of the Saeima presidium also receive an increased salary. However, even with all the allowances, for example, Evika Siline will receive significantly less in the Saeima (minus 1500-1700 euros net) than in her position as prime minister.
No Outsiders Allowed
But let’s return to the Saeima's plans in the remaining two weeks before the summer vacation. The ruling coalition has already agreed that they will try to finalize the new Immigration Law by June 19. The new law significantly tightens the conditions for issuing residence permits to citizens of third countries; it cannot be ruled out that the National Alliance will still achieve the adoption of an amendment that allows the government to introduce quotas, that is, to limit the maximum allowable number of residence permits issued per year to citizens of third countries. It is worth noting that citizens of third countries receiving student visas will also be under stricter control.
Language Restrictions for Consumers
The National Alliance is expected to insist on expediting the final adoption of 'language' amendments to the Consumer Rights Protection Law. However, the Ministry of Justice has proposed a softer alternative version of 'language regulation' for the relationships between consumers and service providers, which will likely be supported by the majority of deputies. Nevertheless, this still needs to be discussed by the Saeima Committee on Economic Affairs. The essence of the Ministry's amendments is that the buyer and seller will be allowed to negotiate the language of communication, but all written information, including, for example, menus, must be in the state language and in other official EU languages. Thus, in cafes and restaurants, for example, it will not be possible to receive a menu — including in electronic form — in Russian.
It seems that the parliament will still transfer a package of bills related to the, to put it mildly, very controversial reform of oversight over non-bank lending to the Saeima Committee on Budget and Finance the day after tomorrow. Recall: it is proposed to take these oversight functions over non-bank financial companies from the Consumer Rights Protection Center and transfer them to the Bank of Latvia. Such a dubious reform has been opposed by the Ministry of Economics, the Consumer Rights Protection Center itself, the non-bank lending sector, and representatives of employer organizations... However, as we can see, the reform has reached the parliament. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that these bills will be adopted before the parliament goes on vacation.
To Succeed Before the Vacation
It is still unclear whether the new government will manage to agree on and submit to the Saeima the initiative of the 'Green Farmers' regarding compensation for damage caused by drones to individuals and legal entities, and whether the coalition will support the Ministry of Economics' proposal to extend the law on reducing the excise tax on fuel at least until September 30. The Ministry of Finance opposes such an extension, as the price of diesel fuel is currently below 2 euros, and thus it will no longer be possible to compensate for the lost excise revenue in the treasury through VAT.
It cannot be ruled out that the prosecutor's office may still approach the parliament with a request to strip former Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze of parliamentary immunity in connection with the so-called 'woodworkers' case' before the Saeima goes on vacation.
But, of course, the hottest period for the current Saeima will be after the summer vacation, namely the last month before the elections — September! It will be very interesting!
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