The meeting of the 2010 Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Rīga, Latvia, at the end of May will not make headlines around the world, but it will have an impact on all our lives.

But it’s the kind of impact people tend to take for granted and don’t think much about. After all, we create armies to protect us and as civilians involved in business, culture, politics (or just living for its own sake), we are more than happy to let the men and ladies in uniform do all the heavy lifting when it comes to national security.

And yet, the militaries of the 28 countries that make up the NATO security alliance couldn’t do what they do very well if they didn’t have full civilian support as well as political direction. The parliaments of the 28 NATO member-states provide that support and direction, and they get together twice a year to make NATO a more effective alliance.

During this year’s Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) in Riga, Latvia, several Latvian officials, politicians, and experts plan to address foreign parliamentarians regarding our country’s vision of global security issues.

Guest speakers who will address foreign parliamentarians during the NATO PA committee meetings on 29 and 30 May are Ms. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of Latvia; Mr. Imants Lieģis, Minister for Defence; Mr. Māris Riekstiņš, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, Governour of the Bank of Latvia; Mr. Juris Maklakovs, Commander of National Armed Forces of Latvia; and Mr. Aivis Ronis, former Ambassador to the United States and current member of NATO’s group of experts on the new Strategic Concept.

During the plenary session of the Nato PA Session on 1 June, Mr. Gundars Daudze, Speaker of the Latvian Saeima, and Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian Prime Minister, will also give their addresses.

The Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) will be held from 28 May to 1 June in Riga, Latvia. Media representatives wishing to report on the event will need special accreditation.

In order to apply for the accreditation, media representatives must electronically fill in the application form and send it, together with their digital photograph by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Applications will be accepted until 10 May 2010.

After the application forms have been examined, the Secretariat of the NATO PA Riga Session will inform the applicants about the further procedure.

We kindly ask media representatives to familiarise themselves with the information on accreditation and security and internal rules during the NATO PA Riga Session.

The NATO PA 2010 Spring Session in Riga will be held from 28 May to 1 June at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre.

According to Mr. Dzintars Rasnačs, Deputy Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), economic and energy security are the cornerstones of global security, and it is precisely these issues which are turning into the major future challenges for NATO. They will be some of the most significant non-military security issues which will be discussed at the NATO PA Spring Session in Riga at the end of May.

“Poverty is one of the main threats to global security because it creates considerable social tension in many countries, including some of those bordering with NATO member states. Therefore, poverty alleviation is the first and paramount non-military task that needs to be accomplished by NATO. Economic security is the very basis of global security. NATO member states get involved in solving these issues by taking part in programmes for economy support and infrastructure development,” pointed out the Deputy Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA.

“For example, the current economic crisis increases the poverty level in NATO member states themselves; it also entails various additional risks which damage democracy, the rule of law, and security. All these issues are closely connected,” said Mr. Rasnačs, who sits on the Committee on Economics and Security of the NATO PA.