Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) believes that Latvia should adopt a system where ministries are created according to current priorities and issues to be addressed, rather than operating as fixed, permanent structures.
In an interview with the magazine Sestdiena, Siliņa said that after the next parliamentary elections — or even before them — Latvia should move towards a system similar to the European Commission, where “ministries are a rotating organism — they are formed according to what is relevant at the given moment.”
“The head of government forms their cabinet, and whichever issue is currently important, that is the ministry they create,” the Prime Minister explained.
In her view, Latvia’s system has become too rigid and stagnant, which is why it is often so difficult to change policies.
“People in the ministries work there for decades and keep doing the same policy all the time,”
Siliņa said.
As an example, she mentioned the establishment of the Climate and Energy Ministry, which was created in response to the growing importance of alternative energy and additional energy resources. She also suggested that the Ministry of the Interior should handle municipal issues as it does in Lithuania.
“Such flexibility is very much needed,” Siliņa told Sestdiena, stressing that this approach could also reduce the overall number of ministries.
However, she acknowledged that such changes could only be implemented in connection with the next parliamentary elections.
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