Marking the 20th anniversary of Latvia’s entry into the bloc, the Riga Castle will raise the EU flag on the Holy Spirit Tower

Marking the 20th anniversary of Latvia’s entry into the bloc, on Wednesday, May 1, at 7:40 a.m., a ceremonial guard of honor ceremony and the raising of the European Union (EU) flag will be held at the Holy Spirit Tower of Riga Castle, LETA was informed by the Presidential Office.

The event will be attended by the President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa (ZZS), Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV), Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže and President of the Supreme Court Aigars Strupišs.

In 1999, the European Commission (EC) recommended starting negotiations with Latvia in its annual progress report on EU candidate countries. On October 9, 2002, the EC published the last progress reports on the candidate countries and recommended the EU member states to conclude accession negotiations with ten candidate countries, including Latvia.

In Athens, on April 16, 2003, the Treaty on accession to the EU was signed. The new member states, including Latvia, got the opportunity to participate in the work of EU institutions as an observer.

On September 20, 2003, a popular vote on joining the EU was held in Latvia. In the referendum, 66.97% voted “for”, “against” 32.26%, with 71.49% of Latvian voters participating. On October 10, 2003, the Saeima ratified Latvia’s EU accession agreement, and on May 1, 2004, Latvia became an EU member state.

EU flag. Photo: Zane Bitere/LETA