“Latvia believes that allowing it as a trustworthy EU member state which has implemented wide-scale reforms to join the euro area when in complies with the Maastricht criteria will increase the trustworthiness of the euro,” said Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on 21 April at the Conference of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union when discussing the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union and its implications for the European Union parliaments.

“Over the last year much has been done on the EU level to regain our confidence in the stability of the euro. Although Latvia is not a member of the euro area, it has actively participated in these discussions. We understand that the planned changes will have a far-reaching impact and that the new fiscal treaty is a core element of these changes,” emphasised Āboltiņa. “Latvia has done a lot in order to overcome the economic and financial crisis. At a time when Europe was just starting to make decisions on necessary reforms and fiscal discipline, Latvia had already implemented them on the national level.”

Speaker of the Saeima reminded that in 2011 Latvia drafted the Fiscal Discipline Law. With the enforcement of the this Law, Latvia will begin to implement a counter-cyclical fiscal policy; that is, it will implement a stricter fiscal policy when the curve of the economic cycle moves upward, and it will implement a stimulating fiscal policy when the curve of the economic cycle moves down.

“It is Latvia’s goal to join the euro area on 1 January 2014, and therefore this year will be crucial from the perspective of compliance with the Maastricht criteria. The economy is developing successfully, and current forecasts justify an optimistic outlook” highlighted Āboltiņa, concurrently indicating that Latvia’s adoption of the euro will depend on the situation in the euro area, as well as on political aspects, because the crisis can strengthen reluctance to enlarge the euro zone.

On 19 – 21 April, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is on a visit to Poland to participate in the Conference of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union and to meet with EU officials.

The Conference of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union, which focuses on topical issues of the EU and its member states, was first held in Rome in 1963.

Saeima Press Service