Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, and Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, hold a press point on the occasion of the President's official visit to Riga (Latvia). This transcription is a result of an authomatic process. Please check against delivery.

press point

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Latvia (T)

Riga

Latvia

president's agenda

Press point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament)

SOUNDBITE (Latvian), Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), Hello, colleagues. A very short time flew by very quickly. And it is clear that we were not able to pronounce all the issues that were on the agenda either. But we touched on the main things. And of course, Mrs. Metsola has come so to discuss next year. And I apologize for this year's election. The elections to the European Parliament of the Council of Europe and clearly that.

SOUNDBITE (Latvian), Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), 'What we see is that year after year this support and electoral activity is not great. And what to do to be able, to increase this activity? Our vision is that there must be a clean, clear and understandable European long-term strategy so that people see those benefits as opposed to what is expressed by populists. And, of course, we don't know what else these populist messages will be. But what is clear is that we certainly see that security issues will be on the agenda, as will welfare issues.

SOUNDBITE (Latvian), Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), Internal political issues will certainly also be addressed through European elections. What we see and want to emphasize is that our support for Ukraine in Latvia will never end. And that is what we want to make clear as well. We do not know if there will be any countries or any populist parties that will also try to express the opposite. But that would be the worst thing that could, of course, happen to try to break up our united European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Latvian), Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), We talked and also discussed the issue of grain, because it is clear that imports of Russian grain must, of course, be restricted. We discussed how good it would be if, nevertheless, we in a united Europe of Europe could agree on common sanctions so that the war in Ukraine would not be financed in this way either. Of course, this is a difficult question. We are aware of this, that foodstuffs have always been a particular exception, but at the same time we need to be aware and do everything to reduce the possibility of funding to finance Russia.

SOUNDBITE (Latvian), Daiga MIERINA, Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), These are the most essential things. Of course, we also discuss how to involve young people, how to try to attract them as well to come and vote. Because the range of issues would still be up for discussion. There are also many welcome. And Mrs Metsola, the initiative for going around and building this campaign in a common context, showing the winners, because we too have been in the European Union for 20 years now, and it is clear that we can name the benefits more than the losses. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Thank you very much, dear speaker. Dear Daiga, good morning. Thank you for your invitation. It is truly a pleasure for me to be in beautiful Riga, actually, for the second time during my mandate. I have very fond memories of my last visit to Latvia in October 2022 to celebrate the centenary of the Saeima.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Ahead of the European elections taking place in June, I will be visiting all the Member States in order to raise awareness about elections and to encourage citizens to vote. Now, I am pleased to say that Latvia is the first country on my Get Out the Vote tour. We need to make sure and we need to work very hard for this, that everyone understands the importance of their participation in European Union elections. This is not just a democratic exercise, but rather an investment in your future.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The next European Parliament will take key decisions which will have a direct impact on people's lives. And this is the reason why every vote matters. In 2019, the European Parliament election, turnout in Latvia was rather low, around 33%, whereas in the whole of the European Union it was a little bit more than half. If Latvian citizens do not want to leave decisions on their future to somebody else, they should go vote on Saturday the 8th of June.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We just had a very broad range of discussion with the speaker. We discussed, of course, Europe's response to the Russian aggression and support to Ukraine, of which I very much want to warmly thank Latvia and its people, not only a day after President Zelenskyy was in the city, but also because of that leadership that you have seen and shown since the very beginning of the Russian invasion. It is crucial that we continue and keep stepping up our support for Ukraine financially and militarily.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The European Parliament has been, I would say, the strongest advocate to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova because for us, it is clear that enlargement is our strongest geopolitical, strategic and future oriented investment. Its transformative ability is something we all know well. This is why our parliaments the Saeima and the European Parliament are actively supporting also the Ukrainian, as it prepares reforms needed on the country's European path. Thank you very much. I'm happy to answer any questions if you have.