On Saturday, 29 May, during the committee discussions, Mrs. Vaira Paegle, Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and Mr. Dzintars Rasnačs, Deputy Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA, emphasised the importance of economic security for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

During the meeting of the Political Committee, Mrs. Vaira Paegle indicated that NATO’s new Strategic Concept should not be regarded as a document which will completely resolve all security issues. “The Alliance is as strong as each of its member states”, said Mrs. V. Paegle. She also stated that hasty decisions by member states can significantly influence the collective security system.

Mrs. V. Paegle asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to take into account the negative experience of the European Union regarding its inability to ensure that member states observe fiscal discipline. She also asked NATO to carefully assess each member state’s contribution to the collective security system and how much funding it allocates to defence. “The economic crisis has made us weaker, and currently only six NATO member states are allocating the mandatory two per cent of GDP to the military sector”, pointed out Mrs. V. Paegle. She emphasised that such a situation could affect the whole Alliance.

On Sunday, 30 May, a special book donation ceremony will take place. At this ceremony, national delegations to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) will present valuable books on NATO and security-related topics to the Latvian National Library (Library).

Mrs Vaira Paegle acknowledges that it will be a significant contribution to the stock of the Latvian National Library, which currently has more than 100 books devoted to NATO. According to the information provided by the Library, the majority of these books have been acquired after the renewal of Latvia’s independence, namely, in the 1990s. Therefore, the stock of the Library should be replenished with more recent publications, especially on NATO civilian programmes – security of information and communication networks, supplies to consumers and producers, education and training.

For the sixth day, the border guards have been conducting security checks of persons entering Latvia on highways crossing the internal borders or arriving at the Port of Riga and at Riga International Airport. Checks regarding the observance of the regime in border areas with Lithuania and Estonia have been intensified.

During the last 24 hours the border guards have checked 17, 046 persons entering Latvia. About 12,693 persons have been checked on the highways, and 4,353 persons at Riga International Airport and the Port of Riga. Among the checked persons, 1,296 persons were third-country nationals. A total of 5,205 cars have also been checked.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session was launched Friday in Riga, for five days of debate on the changing issues facing the Alliance. 
The discussions between over 320 delegates from 41 countries were expected to be frank, at a time when the Alliance itself is reviewing its Strategic Concept better to face current and future security challenges.
The various committees will be drafting reports and recommendations to submit to NATO on topics ranging from operations in Afghanistan, maritime security, WMD proliferation, concerns about the global economy and environment, to the Alliance ’s renewed relationship with Russia, among others.