On May 1, 2004, Latvia and nine other countries joined the EU. In 20 years, a lot has changed for the better – the overall well-being of the country has improved considerably, large public investments from European funds are available, you can travel freely in Europe, Latvia has joined the Eurozone.
However, it could have been otherwise. Latvia could also not join the EU, and if so, today only gloomy forecasts can be made about such a scenario.
Einārs Repše, the former prime minister and one of the three people who once signed the documents on Latvia’s accession to the EU, shared his thoughts on this: “Economically, I think we would be somewhere comparable to Belarus. Politically, it’s hard to say, but economically, that’s what experts say. Probably there. Second, if we hadn’t joined the European Union, the Ukrainian scenario would be here today.”
Looking back at what has been done and what may not have gone so well, the study “Latvia in the European Union – 20 years” was made. Its authors claimed that although it can be said that Latvia lags behind its neighbors in many areas, such as the other Baltic states, the assumption that Latvia is a poor country is wrong.
LU Šteinbuka, presenting the study “Latvia in the European Union – 20 years”, said: “We say that we are lagging behind our neighbors. Yes, we are lagging behind, but we are not a poor country. This is another myth, along with the fact that Latvia has destroyed its industry. If we look at the added value, we have 30%. Yes, there is more in Lithuania, but we cannot say that we have destroyed industry.”
But it is clear that there is room for improvement. And in order to do this, Latvia would need a comprehensive plan – with specific goals and deadlines that everyone should take into account. Similar to a plan that once had to be fulfilled in order to get to the group of EU countries.
Steinbuk pointed out: “You can’t look for it in the sphere of a single ministry. It really has to be looked at interdisciplinary, between different areas. You have to look for the common denominator that really unites people, politicians, thinkers, opinion leaders. It could be within the framework of some kind of think tank or better if it is led by the government, because political will is absolutely necessary if we want to achieve any goal.”
In the opinion of the professor, the first and most important priority for Latvia right now is security. The respondents of the study also noted security as the main benefit of joining the EU.
