We have yet to remove all the remains left from the old empire in Latvia, said ex-president of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga in an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds.
Looking back at 20 years in the European Union (EU), the ex-president said some accomplishments can be measured in monetary form. However, there are also various studies and indexes.
For example, corruption remains a still unaddressed issue in Latvia. Corruption levels in Baltic States remain rather high.
“This should not be the case. We need to work on that in the coming years,” Vīķe-Freiberga said, continuing on the topic of corruption.
Vīķe-Freiberga said that Latvia’s accession to the EU and NATO was important to the reinforcement of the country’s security. “This is a step meant to deter Russia from invading,” the ex-president said.
She stressed that the remains of the old empire still remain in Latvia. “We have yet to remove the remains of the old empire,” she said.
On the 20th of September 2003 Latvia held a referendum on the accession to the EU. 66.97% voted in favour, 32.26% voted against. 71.49% of Latvian citizens with voting rights participated in the referendum. The Saeima ratified Latvia’s EU accession agreement on the 10th of October 2003 and on the 1st of May 2004 Latvia became an EU member state.
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