Partners of the forming coalition in Latvia have agreed that all three of them will get one vice-minister seat each in the government, as confirmed by Combined List Saeima faction leader Edgars Tavars.
He mentioned that political parties have agreed to this offer because it was proposed by New Unity members.
Currently, however, it is unknown which ministries will have these new posts. New Unity and National Alliance mention that the Combined List may get its vice-minister’s seat in the Ministry of Defence. The Combined List has yet to comment on this, added Tavars.
He explained that the idea of vice-minister posts is also approved by President Egils Levits. This new post is intended to secure better political efficiency inn sectors that have lacked political supervision until now. Currently there are many sectors that may benefit from having an additional supervisory official – defence, education, demography, national economy and media, said Tavars.
New Unity, meanwhile, also proposes composing Cabinet of Ministers committees is certain «vital sectors», such as energy. Having specialised committees in such sectors would allow ministers and leading officials to engage in discussions with experts and come up with appropriate solutions, said the head of the Combined List faction.
Parties of the forming coalition once again reached an agreement on the creation of the Ministry of Climate and Energy. At the same time, officials also agreed that this ministry’s creation requires as little budget funding as possible, said Tavars.
Law amendment to allow both the creation of a new ministry and new minister posts will soon be submitted to the Saeima for approval.
Soon it is planned to start working with social partners to outline important tasks in the government declaration, said the politician. He also mentioned that politicians have approved New Unity’s suggested schedule, which provides for completing the government declaration by December.
Tavars said discussions have been constructive so far, outlining that coalition partners have made great strides in forming the new government.
Also read: Latvian PM: the Saeima may approve the next government in a couple of weeks