Saeima press-service reports that on Thursday, the 26th of January, the legislator conceptually supported the urgent amendments to the Law on Ports that provide for extending the term for the liquidation of the authority of Riga and Ventspils freeports until the end of 2023.
89 Saeima deputies voted in favour of this. Aleksandrs Kiršteins from the National Alliance abstained and Armands Krauze from the Union of Greens and Farmers did not vote at all.
Saeima’s Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee’s proposed amendments are necessary (as mentioned in the annotation to the legislative draft) to «ensure a quality transition period» and hand over management functions to newly-formed capital associations – joint stock companies Ventas osta and Rīgas osta.
«Discussions have to continue on the topic of the sea port management reform and involvement of municipalities in the entire process,»
as the chairperson of the committee Linda Matisone previously said about the legislative draft. The committee will invite all involved sides to look into the reform and possible improvements and find the best possible management model.
For the legislative draft to come into force, it needs to be passed by the Saeima in the final reading. The committee plans to review it in the second reading on the 2nd of February.
Also read: Latvian minister stresses that opinions of businessmen are important for sea port reform