On Thursday, 8 January, the College of Commissioners will pay a traditional visit to the country presiding over the Council of the European Union, during which it will address the priorities of the Latvian Presidency and facilitate the dialogue between social partners, NGOs and society, on one hand, and the European Commission, on the other hand. During the visit, the commissioners will meet with Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, and Latvian MPs, as well as take a family photo at the main building of the Saeima. 

At the outset of the visit, commissioners, chairpersons of the sectoral committees of the Saeima, Latvian MPs, social partners, as well as representatives of the academia and NGOs will take part in six sectoral discussions. Four of the discussions will be held at the Saeima, and two – at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In order to emphasise the role of the national parliaments in EU decision making, this year the European Commission has come up with the initiative to hold several exchanges of views at the parliament of the presiding country.

An exchange of views on the Commission Work Programme 2015, as well as justice and home affairs issues will be held in the Plenary Chamber of the Saeima and will be chaired by Lolita Čigāne, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima. Frans Timmermans, First Vice President for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; Vĕra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality; and Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, will take part in the discussion. The discussion will be streamed live on the Saeima website www.saeima.lv. 

An exchange of views on EU foreign policy priorities will be chaired by Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, and it will be attended by Federica Mogherini, Vice President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Trade; Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management; and Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.

An exchange of views on the jobs, growth and investment package will be attended by Kristalina Georgieva, Vice President for Budget and Human Resources; Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs; and Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. These matters will also be addressed by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Jonathan Hill, Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union; Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; and Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition. This discussion will be chaired by Aija Barča, Chairperson of the Social Affairs and Employment Matters Committee of the Saeima, and Līga Menģelsone, Director General of the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia.

Meanwhile, the European Semester and pertaining issues will be addressed at the parliament by Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President for Euro and Social Dialogue, and Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility. This exchange of views will be chaired by Kārlis Šadurskis, Chairman of the Budget and Finance (Taxation) Committee of the Saeima.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host exchange of views on the Energy Union and the Digital Single Market. The discussion on the Energy Union will be attended by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President for Energy Union; Violeta Bulc, Commissioner for Transport; Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy; and Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and it will be chaired by energy expert Juris Ozoliņš. 

However, the exchange of views on the Digital Single Market will be attended by Andrus Ansip, Vice President for Digital Single Market; and Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. The discussion will be chaired by MP Edvards Smiltēns and Žaneta Mikosa, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.

Att. Media representatives:

8.55 Welcoming of the commissioners by the Speaker of the Saeima; family photoVoting Room of the Saeima, Jēkaba iela 11 TV and photo opportunity Media representatives should arrive by 8.40

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on the Commission Work Programme 2015, as well as justice and home affairs Plenary Chamber of the Saeima, Jēkaba iela 11 

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on EU foreign policy priorities Guest Room of Saeima, Jēkaba iela 11

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on the jobs, growth and investment package Room 409, Jēkaba iela 10/12 

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on the European Semester and pertaining issues Red Room of the Saeima, Jēkaba iela 11

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on the Energy Union Meierovica Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kr.Valdemāra iela 3 Contact person for media - Diāna Eglīte, Head of the Press and Information Division, phone: 67016272

09.00 - 10.00 Exchange of views on the Digital Single Market Training Centre Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kr.Valdemāra iela 3 Contact person for media - Diāna Eglīte, Head of the Press and Information Division, phone: 67016272



Saeima Press Service