Opposition parties in the Saeima — the National Alliance (NA) and the United List (AS) — have initiated a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity, JV), NA announced.
The parties cite the government’s “long-standing inability to take decisive action to end economic cooperation with Russia and Belarus.”
NA argues that Latvia is in a geopolitically critical situation, with the war in Ukraine ongoing and Russia threatening both regional and European security.
“In such circumstances, the government’s inaction and indecision regarding the termination of cooperation with Russia and its ally Belarus are unacceptable. Unfortunately, despite loud statements, the government has failed — or has been unwilling — to act decisively, thereby indirectly continuing to support Russia’s economy and its ability to wage war,” NA stated.
Saeima MP Jānis Vitenbergs (NA) added that his party has tried to cooperate on various issues but
cannot accept the strengthening of economic ties with Russia rather than their severance.
He claimed that trade volumes with Russia have increased instead of decreasing: “We do not understand where the Prime Minister is steering the government’s ship. We demand her resignation because two years have been more than enough time to make the necessary decisions,” Vitenbergs said.
NA justifies the resignation request by pointing to numerous initiatives submitted over the past year in parliament and government to reduce or fully cut economic ties with Russia and Belarus. Almost all of them, NA claims, have been postponed, rejected, or ignored.
Examples include the Entrepreneurs for Peace petition on manabalss.lv, signed by more than 11,000 Latvian citizens, urging the government to deny special permits exempting companies from withholding tax on payments to Russian entities. According to NA, this initiative has not been implemented. Proposals for a “war tax” on companies cooperating with aggressor states and restrictions on their participation in public procurement have also been dismissed or delayed.
Meanwhile, NA claims, the opposite has happened: economic cooperation with Russia has grown.
According to the Central Statistical Bureau, trade volume with Russia rose by 7% in June 2025, reaching 71 million euros, and by 11.8% in July, reaching 99.3 million euros compared to the same period in 2024. Russia is now among Latvia’s top five trading partners, ahead of Poland, NA stressed.
NA also pointed out that companies with Russian beneficial owners continue to participate in Latvian public procurements, meaning that taxpayers’ money is indirectly strengthening Russia’s economy.
Furthermore, NA criticized the government for signing 34 million euros contracts in May 2025 to modernize three border checkpoints with Russia and Belarus, expanding traffic lanes and parking areas — measures that, in their view, deepen cooperation instead of limiting it.
“Latvia needs a decisive and principled government
that consistently defends our national security interests and demonstrates solidarity with the Ukrainian people not only in words but also in deeds,” NA declared.
The opposition argues that the current government has proven incapable of making decisions that would effectively stop cooperation with aggressor states and therefore calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation.
As reported, earlier this year the opposition party Latvia First (LPV) also demanded Siliņa’s resignation several times, accusing her government of failing to address key national problems. LPV criticized the government’s lack of ideas, poor handling of inflation, rising food prices, declining welfare, and inefficiency in reducing bureaucracy or managing major infrastructure projects such as Rail Baltica and airBaltic. They also pointed to Latvia’s growing national debt, now exceeding 20 billion euros, which they argue poses real insolvency risks for the country.
At the time, Siliņa dismissed those resignation calls as election-driven, linked to the upcoming elections.
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