Before taking office as parliamentary secretary at the Latvian ministry of foreign affairs, I was a member of the Latvian parliament – Saeima – where I chaired the committee on European affairs. Now that I have been made responsible for the Latvian EU council presidency's relationship with parliament, I feel privileged to have been granted an inside look into the EU’s parliamentary work. It is true that EU council presidency related tasks impose new responsibilities. Yet in many ways, I feel at home in this role.
The council represents EU member states' governments and the directly elected European parliament. Together, they decide on almost all European legislation and adopt the budget. The parliament is the place where all critical discussions on the EU's future take place. It holds democratic oversight over the implementation of EU policies. An effective and close relationship between the council and parliament will be my priority during the next six months, throughout the Latvian EU council presidency.
We have singled out three priority areas for the EU council presidency. First, we aim to stimulate a competitive Europe, to enhance economic growth and job creation. Second, we will work towards a digital Europe, which will support our competitiveness. Lastly, we will promote an engaged Europe to assert our role in the world. To this end, we will engage with the European parliament and the commission on all three priorities. This work will include debates on the investment package, economic governance, revision of the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs, including youth employment, energy union, modernising the single market and making the EU's economy genuinely digital. This common work also comprises dealing with complex legislative dossiers. Therefore we, the representatives of the council and the parliament, will need to sit together in order to find the best solutions.
This work has already started. Besides being in contact every day, we are discussing our presidency's agenda with the European parliament in various formats - at the conference of committee chairs, in each of the parliamentary committees in January, and during the recent meeting with the conference of presidents in Riga.
"Our presidency takes place during a time of intense discussions on the legitimacy of policymaking in the EU"
Soon after the launch of the council presidency, we will have an opportunity to discuss our priorities with MEPs at a plenary session in Strasbourg. I look forward to being involved in the discussion of our priorities during this time. Subsequently, we will remain engaged with parliament through regular work at all levels - including expert level - in committees and plenaries.
As a former member of a national parliament, I would also like to highlight the importance of the EU's parliamentary dimension that brings together the European parliament and member states' national parliaments through inter-parliamentary conferences.
During our presidency, the Latvian parliament will organise six of these conferences, in cooperation with the European parliament. Five of them will take place in Riga. These events will focus on issues which are also the focal points of the Latvian EU presidency’s agenda.
These inter-parliamentary events involving around 1000 participants from 28 EU member states and institutions will bring the EU's agenda closer to citizens. Our government's ministers will be there to represent the presidency of the council. We need discussions that are as wide and open as possible, involving all EU institutions, national parliaments and civil society in order to address the issues that are of concern to our citizens.
The inter-parliamentary meetings will address digital economy and inclusive growth, the participation of vulnerable groups in the labour market, social entrepreneurship and the youth guarantee initiative, which has already been implemented in Latvia and yielded encouraging results. There will also be discussions on the implications for education and employment in the digital economy, cloud computing and data privacy. The discussions will obviously address the situation in Ukraine and highlight the importance of the EU eastern partnership. All these issues are high on our presidency agenda, too.
Our presidency takes place during a time of intense discussions on the legitimacy of policymaking in the EU. Our work with the European parliament will be key to addressing this issue, which is among the most fundamental for the EU. With the intensive work and interplay we have foreseen, I am sure that democratic representation will be a pivotal point in the decision making throughout our presidency.