The Latvian Parliament has just given a vote of confidence to the new government. The European Green Party congratulates its member party Progresīvie (The Progressives; PRO) for assuming responsibility in the government. The PRO ministers will be in charge of Culture, Transport and Defence.
Thanks to the presence of The Progressives, this is the first centre-left government of Latvia. The Progressives negotiated and won that the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on violence against women, and the legalisation of same-sex partnerships, is included in the government's work plan. The new government's declaration states that Latvia should be a safe, inclusive and sustainable European country.
Andris Sprūds (PRO/EGP) is the Minister of Defence, Kaspars Briškens (PRO/EGP) Minister of Transport, and Agnese Logina (PRO/EGP) Minister of Culture.
European Green Party co-presidents Thomas Waitz and Mélanie Vogel comment: "Progresīvie is taking responsibility and giving Latvia a stable government. Our member party nominates ministers with expertise and experience in portfolios that suit them. The responsibility of Latvia's Defence Minister is extremely important in a country that borders Russia. In Latvia, our pro-European member party will contribute to the security of the EU in the face of Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine".
Progresīvie became a member of the European Greens in our Riga Council in 2022. A few months later, they made spectacular gains in the 2022 elections, rising from 2.6 to 6.2 percent, giving them 10 of the 100 seats in the Latvian Parliament.
"This means that European Green Party members are now present in 6 European governments (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Latvia and Luxembourg). This once again confirms that more Greens get in power because the Green ideas are getting stronger, reaching far beyond the countries with longstanding Green parties", Thomas Waitz and Mélanie Vogel conclude.
