Latvian Presidency of the EU 2015-1

As the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council approaches its end, the Flagey arts centre offers a screening of the Latvian movie Modris on Monday 8 June at 20:00 as part of the 13th Brussels Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s director Juris Kursietis.

On 2-3 June 2015 the meeting of the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) Working Group of Quality Managers (WGQM) took place in Riga, Latvia. The agenda of the meeting included implementation and ensuring of the uniform quality management principles in European medicines agencies.

On 2-3 June, during the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council, the EU experts working group meeting on forest reproductive material was held at the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture. According to the agenda suggested by the European Commission, the meeting discussed topical issues and proposals for a regulation on growing, use and the control of trade regarding forest reproductive material.

On 6-13 June, during the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council the 39th session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) Conference will take place in Rome. On 8 June, the Latvian Minister for Agriculture, Jānis Dūklavs, will deliver a speech at the General Debate on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

On 1-3 June, under the Latvian Presidency, an away day for the Committee of the European Social Fund (ESF) organised by the European Commission (EC) took place in Riga. At the meeting, state administration bodies from the EU Member States together with social partners discussed topical issues related to ESF implementation in each Member State. 

On 1-3 June, under the Latvian Presidency, an away day for the Committee of the European Social Fund (ESF) organised by the European Commission (EC) took place in Riga. At the meeting, state administration bodies from the EU Member States together with social partners discussed topical issues related to ESF implementation in each Member State. 

Today`s political trilogue on the EFSI regulation was productive and it was the last one. During the meeting, the last minor political issues were resolved on the proposed regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). 

The #mindpower short film project dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Latvian poets Rainis and Aspazija has arrived in sunny southern Italy where it meets the cheerful singer Al Bano.

On 4 June, the European Development Days (EDDs) lab debate organised by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU stressed the need to eradicate discrimination against women and girls and enhance their role in the economy, focusing on Central Asia.

On Friday, 5 June, No Elevators Day campaign will take place for the first time in Europe and the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU invites everyone to join the campaign and on that day use the stairs instead of the elevator.

Forum "Global education - engagement, growth, sustainability," which takes place on 8-10 June in Valmiera, embodies one of the major discussions under the Latvian Presidency on development/global education and the importance of its integration into the curriculum of formal education.

On 4-5 June under the Latvian Presidency  the meeting of the Council’s Working Party on the Customs Union will take place in Riga. Participants of the meeting will discuss topical issues of the customs policy and possibilities to facilitate further cooperation with the Eastern neighbouring countries of the European Union.

On Friday 5 June, the Kyiv History Museum will host the opening of the “Amber – Jewel of the Baltic Sea” exhibition dedicated to the distribution of amber around the Baltic Sea coast, the Amber Roads and the cultures involved.

On 4-5 June the informal meeting of the Politico-Military Group (PMG) will take place in Riga to discuss topical issues related to the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in order to prepare for the forthcoming European Council discussions on defence.

On Thursday 4 June, the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (Cathédrale des Sts Michel et Gudule) in Brussels will host a performance by the distinguished Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna. The concert will feature works by Franz Liszt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other composers.

At an informal meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture held on 1-2 June in Riga, the Latvian side, representing the Presidency of the EU Council, initiated discussions on the situation regarding organic agriculture and its development in the European Union.

On 28-29 May, the joint meeting of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP) High-Level Group and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in the field of energy policy took place in Jūrmala, Latvia.

The European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the outstanding issues concerning the proposal for a regulation on animal health law at an informal trilogue meeting on 1 June.

On 1-2 June 2015, a meeting of the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) Monitoring Committee takes place in Jūrmala, during which it is planned to agree on the new ESPON 2020 Territorial Cooperation Programme launch and thematic focus until 2020. The meeting is organised under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).

On 27-28 May, Riga hosted the International Conference on ICT for Information Accessibility in Learning (ICT4IAL). The conference presented guidelines developed over the past two years, with particular emphasis on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the learning process making the information more accessible for people with special needs. Issues covered at the conference correspond to one of the main priorities of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU – Digital Europe.