Latvia will maintain its moratorium on large public-sector information and communications technology (ICT) procurements until a single authority is placed in charge of overseeing the process, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced following a meeting of the Information Society Council.
Kulbergs said the government task force reviewing the country’s ICT sector has already delivered tangible results, estimating that around 5 million euros has been saved so far.
According to the prime minister, the biggest weakness has been the lack of central oversight. Until now, Latvia has not had a single ICT authority responsible for ensuring that government systems are interoperable or for assessing whether proposed digital projects provide genuine value to the public.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the Information Society Council endorsed a package of reforms proposed by Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development Edgars Tavars, aimed at overhauling the management and procurement of state ICT projects, the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) said.
The reforms are designed to strengthen the state’s ability to plan, evaluate and implement ICT projects
in a transparent, economically justified and professionally managed manner.
The proposals are grouped into 12 measures under three strategic priorities: strengthening national digital governance, consolidating state ICT expertise, and modernising the ICT procurement system.
The objective is to replace the current fragmented approach with a unified framework for planning, evaluating and supervising ICT projects while encouraging greater competition in public technology procurement.
State and municipal ICT procurements totalled nearly 278 million euros in 2025, accounting for more than 9% of Latvia’s total public procurement spending.
According to VARAM’s analysis,
ICT project management has remained highly fragmented across government institutions,
leaving the ministry without a comprehensive overview of ICT investments. It also found that project evaluations lack consistent standards and that competition remains limited in several procurement categories.
Under the planned reforms, Latvia will introduce a unified governance model for major ICT projects, including a central system for evaluating and monitoring large-scale investments, a publicly accessible project register, and enhanced supervision throughout each project’s lifecycle.
The government also plans to establish shared ICT competence centres, consolidate support functions, and strengthen the state’s capacity to develop and manage digital solutions internally.
In addition, the Electronic Procurement System (EIS) will be upgraded
to support more open technological solutions and provide broader opportunities for companies to participate in public tenders, with the aim of boosting competition and innovation.
To implement these changes, the Ministry of Finance will propose amendments to Cabinet regulations introducing a 140,000 euros contract value threshold for software development services purchased through the EIS electronic catalogues.
Meanwhile, VARAM, together with the State Digital Development Agency (VDAA) and the Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB), will review the operation of the EIS ICT catalogues and prepare recommendations for further improvements by the 1st of October.
Kulbergs initially imposed a 30-day moratorium on large and high-value ICT procurements to reassess their necessity and procurement procedures. The restrictions do not apply to contracts valued at less than 142,000 euros. The moratorium was later extended and will now remain in place until the government establishes a single authority responsible for overseeing major ICT procurements.
Read also: BNN IN FOCUS | “Those who fail to deliver on their promises go home” – political analyst gives blunt assessment of parties’ election prospects