In the morning of 30 May, two committees of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) – the Defence and Security Committee and the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security – will convene their meetings.

Participants of the Defence and Security Committee will be addressed by Mr Imants Viesturs Lieģis, Latvian Minister for Defence, and Major General Juris Maklakovs, Commander of the National Armed Forces of Latvia. The Committee will discuss issues such as NATO’s new Security Concept, the security situation in Afghanistan, arms control, and NATO’s role in the High North.

The Greek defence budget was the subject of discussion at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Riga on Saturday (today), as parliamentarians from across the Alliance debated the impacts of the country’s recent financial crisis.

At a meeting of the Assembly’s Economics and Security Committee, British Member of Parliament Peter Bottomley (Conservative) enquired after the level of Greek military spending, and whether it was expected to be reduced following the 110-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

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.