“The coming years will be full of challenges for our countries – Lithuania will undertake the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, while Latvia will assume this task two years later. We must achieve favourable decisions regarding the new Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union, we must make progress on energy issues, and we must continue to work on transport infrastructure development projects,” Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, noted on Thursday, 10 January, when meeting in the main building of the Saeima with Algirdas Butkevičius, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania.

Last year, the Saeima received 6,368 submissions from individuals, NGOs and other organisations. Also, more than 13,000 citizens used the opportunity to address the parliament in a collective submission for the first time.

During its autumn session of 2012, the Saeima convened for 16 plenary sittings, 1 extraordinary sitting and 1 ceremonial sitting. During this autumn session, the parliament has adopted 112 laws, including 17 new laws and amendments to 95 laws. In the process of law making, the Saeima has considered 3,176 legislative proposals either in the second or in the third reading.

On Thursday, 13 December, the Saeima in the third and final reading adopted amendments to the Criminal Law, thus significantly reforming the criminal punishment policy by facilitating law abidance and preventing convicts from committing crimes repeatedly.

On Thursday, 13 December, the Saeima in the first reading supported in principle the Draft Law on the Introduction of the Euro, which sets forth general principles for the introduction of the common currency of the European Union – the euro – in Latvia. The Saeima deemed the Draft Law as urgent, and it is planned to be adopted in the final reading on 31 January of next year.

“It is important to strengthen Baltic unity because it is as relevant today as it was twenty years ago,” pointed out Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday, 12 December, during her meeting with Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, who is on his official visit to Latvia.

On Thursday, 29 November, the Saeima adopted in the final reading a new Law on Election Campaigning which incorporates procedures that until now were set forth in several different laws; the new Law also establishes the procedure for campaigning before the Saeima, the European Parliament and local government elections and supervision thereof.