Commission Report (2002): Latvia

Introduction

The political criteria for accession to be met by the candidate countries, as laid down by the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993, stipulate that these countries must have achieved ``stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities''.

In its 1997 Opinion on Latvia's application for EU membership, the Commission concluded:

``Latvia's political institutions function properly and in conditions of stability. They respect the limits on their competencies and co-operate with each other. Elections in 1992 and 1995 were free and fair, and in each case permitted the establishment of coalition governments. The Opposition plays a normal part in the operation of the institutions. Efforts to improve the operation of the judicial system and to intensify the fight against corruption need to be sustained.

There are no major problems over respect for fundamental rights. But Latvia needs to take measures to accelerate naturalisation procedures to enable the Russian-speaking non-citizens to become better integrated into Latvian society. It should also pursue its efforts to ensure general equality of treatment for non-citizens and minorities, in particular for access to professions and participation in the democratic process.

With the reservation that steps need to be taken to enable the Russian-speaking minority to become better integrated into society, Latvia demonstrates the characteristics of a democracy, with stable institutions guaranteeing the rule of law and human rights''.

In its 2001 Regular Report, the Commission found that:

``In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Latvia fulfilled the political criteria. Since that time, the country has made considerable progress in further consolidating and deepening the stability of its institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. Over the past year, further efforts have been made in this direction. Latvia continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria.

During the last year, the government remained committed to reforming the Public Administration and the judiciary, as well as to fighting against corruption. Strategic documents on public administration reform and corruption prevention were adopted, as was framework legislation on public agencies, and practical measures were pursued in all three areas. It will now be necessary to maintain the momentum of public administration reform with the completion of the legal framework and the development of a stable civil service, including through the introduction of pay reform. In parallel, the reform of the judicial system must be carried on, with particular attention to the legal framework, speeding up and enforcing court decisions, and addressing the issue of pretrial detention. Measures to combat corruption, which remains a source of concern, need to continue with a view to achieving concrete results on a broad scale.

Further important steps were taken to promote the integration of non-citizens into Latvian society, notably measures to facilitate the naturalisation procedure and the adoption of both a more elaborate Society Integration Programme and the legal basis for the future Social Integration Foundation. The ongoing efforts to support the integration of non-citizens need to be sustained through the implementation of the comprehensive Society Integration Programme in all its aspects, including activities to encourage naturalisation and the expansion of Latvian language training. Latvia should ensure that the implementation of the Language Law respects the principles of justified public interest and proportionality, Latvia's international obligations and the Europe Agreement.

Latvia has achieved progress towards meeting the short-term priorities of the Accession Partnership in the areas of the Language Law and language training, as well as administrative and judicial capacity. Some progress has also been made towards meeting the medium-term priorities in the areas of further integrating non-citizens, developing the civil service and improving the capacity of the public administration; however, these efforts need to continue''.

The section below provides an assessment of developments in Latvia, seen from the perspective of the Copenhagen political criteria, including the overall functioning of the country`s executive and its judicial system. Developments in this context are in many ways closely linked to developments regarding Latvia`s ability to implement the acquis, in particular in the domain of justice and home affairs. Specific information on the development of Latvia`s ability to implement the acquis in the field of justice and home affairs can be found in the relevant section (Chapter 24 -- co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs) of part B.3.1. of this Report.

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