October 1999

Latvia Update Memo

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

In July 1999 a new government was elected in Latvia. The new Prime Minister Andris Skele provided the following declaration of the Work of the Cabinet of Ministers. There are the expectations that the role of government in the IS issues will increase. There is a range of essential actions in the chapters "Communications" and "Informatics" of the Declaration on the Work of the Cabinet of Ministers http://www.mk.gov.lv/eng/primeminister/.

However it is impossible at this early stage only two months after the delivery of the declaration, how the implementation of the political statements will actually affect the development of IS in Latvia.

Extract from the Declaration (unofficial translation)

The present Government is formed in order to:

1. overcome the national economy and financial crisis, achieving sustainable and balanced economic developmentof the state;
2. ensure conditions for maintenance and development of Latvian language and culture;
3. create a competitive system of education;
4. ensure entrance of Latvia into the European Union and NATO, and efficient realisation of state foreign policy;
5. administer a decisive blow to corruption and criminality;
6. avert collapse and achieve stable functioning of pension system;
7. establish economical and efficient public and municipal administration;
8. establish clear agricultural policy and real competitiveness;
9. accomplish privatisation;
10. overcome demographic crisis and establish conditions for existence of healthy and sound family;
11. pass to total defence principle of the state in the military sphere;
12. ensure conditions for establishing of civil society.

Extract from the sections about Communications and Informatics

Communications

• by the end of the year 1999 shall elaborate and submit to the Saeima new and modern draft law on telecommunications;
• by the year 2003 shall achieve decrease of the monopoly status of Lattelekom and emerging of competitiveness in the sector of telecommunications;
• shall immediately liberalise the market of mobile communications, determining distinct criteria for issuance of licenses and starting issuance of licenses for new operators.
• by the year 2003, shall ensure access to free emergency aid telephone services for every resident;
• shall ensure qualitative detection of public television and radio programmes in the whole country;

Informatics

• the prior trends for investments in informatics for the years 2000-2001 shall be education, introduction of integrated information system of state importance and its components, as well as elaboration of normative acts in the sphere of informatics;
• shall form an integrated information system and data transmission net that joins informative resources and is of public importance, by investing the finances in users' education.
• by the year 2001 shall elaborate and within the period of one year introduce an integrated transport information system for co-ordination and optimisation of all kinds of traffic and loading processing.
• shall promote the development of the Internet, combating unfair competitiveness among the Internet service providers.