EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 20.7.2021 SWD(2021) 719 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2021 Rule of Law Report



Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Latvia Accompanying the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2021 Rule of Law Report



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Abstract The Latvian justice system has benefitted from measures to further improve its independence, quality, and efficiency. The new procedure for selecting candidate judges, established to strengthen judicial independence, started to be applied. The Judicial Council approved a new strategy for 2021-2025 aiming at increasing judicial independence. However, the Council keeps operating with limited resources, in particular as regards its staff – an issue already raised in the 2020 Rule of Law Report. A new Code of Ethics for judges has been adopted to modernise guidance on ethics, which had not been amended since 1995. The level of digitalisation of courts and the prosecution services is high, and efforts are ongoing to develop it further. The Government intends to create a new training centre, centralising all training in the justice system. It would be important that the judiciary is adequately involved in its governance and supervision. The newly created Economic Court is becoming operational and will require sufficient resources as regards both staff and training to be able to handle complex economic and financial cases efficiently. The legislative reforms adopted by Latvia to strengthen the effectiveness of the anti-corruption framework remain to be fully implemented. Legislation criminalises the offences of abuse of office, domestic and foreign bribery, and trading in influence. A new Action Plan to prevent corruption is under preparation. The investigation and prosecution of corruption-related offences continues to be a shared task among different authorities. Measures were taken to increase the capacity of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau to investigate corruption cases. Work on the integrity framework for the prevention of conflicts of interest continued, but the provisions regulating “revolving doors” and post-employment restrictions remain limited. Lobbying remains unregulated, while the draft legislation continues to be discussed by the Parliament. The State Audit Office audited more than 90% of the funding spent in 2020 for COVID-19 related support measures. As regards media freedom and pluralism, new legislation has been adopted to transpose the Audiovisual Media Service Directive, which aims to strengthen the independence of the media regulator, the National Electronic Mass Media Council, while its remit has been reduced by excluding the operational oversight of public service media. Although a comprehensive framework for the protection of journalists and the right to access information is in place, it appears that journalists continue to face personal attacks online, often from politicians. Steps were taken to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the media. In addition, some concerns were expressed about journalists’ limited access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic were adopted in the framework of the state of emergency, which ended in April 2021. The Parliament continued to work remotely and reviewed the pandemic-related measures. However, Parliament could only approve or reject ex post the Government measures that mostly had already entered into force under the state of emergency and could not amend them. The Ombudsperson's Office was re-accredited with an A-status and continued to monitor measures related to the pandemic. New Guidelines for the development of a more cohesive civil society for the period 2021-2027 were adopted by Government, which also allocated financial support to NGOs to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I.Justice System The Latvian justice system has three tiers. At first instance, there are nine district (city) courts dealing with civil and criminal cases, and one district administrative court. A new specialized Economic Court deals with certain economic and financial crimes. At second instance, five regional courts are dealing with civil and commercial cases and there is one regional administrative court. The Supreme Court, at third instance, is handling criminal, civil and administrative cases. The Constitutional Court carries out constitutional review. An independent Judicial Council is tasked with participating in the development of policies and strategies for the judicial system and the improvement of its organisation. Furthermore, the Council deals with selecting candidate judges, appointing and dismissing court presidents, determining the judicial map and approving the content of training. Candidate judges are selected through an open competition organised by the Judicial Council, ranked and placed on a list, from which the Minister for Justice proposes the candidate with the highest number of points to the Parliament (Saeima) for appointment. After three years and an evaluation by a judicial body, judges are appointed for an indefinite term by the Parliament on a proposal from the Minister for Justice. The Prosecution Office is an independent judicial institution under the authority of the Prosecutor General. Latvia participates in the European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The Latvian Council of Lawyers is an independent, self-governing professional organisation, which is in charge of disciplinary proceedings regarding lawyers. Independence The level of perceived independence has risen since 2016 both among companies and the general public, and remains average. Among the general population, 57% consider the level of independence of courts to be ‘fairly or very good’, as well as 53% of companies. The perceived level of independence has improved since 2016 both among the general public and companies, and it increased by 12% for the general population and by 6% for companies in 2021. The new procedure for selecting candidate judges and strengthening judicial independence has started to be applied. As described in the 2020 Rule of law Report, the Judicial Council determined the new procedure for the selection of candidate-judges, a competence transferred by a 2018 law from the executive to the Council. The Commission for the selection of judicial candidates for district and regional courts established by the Judicial Council started its work on 22 October 2020, and implemented this competence for the first time to select the judges of the newly created Economic Court. Building on the experience gained during this selection process, in April 2021, the Judicial Council slightly adjusted the procedure for selecting candidates for district and regional court judges, improving both the content of examinations and evaluation criteria and the organisation of the process, particularly as regards the written test. The Council considered the overall implementation of the procedure to be successful. The amended rules will govern the selection process for vacancies in civil and criminal regional courts starting in May 2021. The Judicial Council adopted its strategy for 2021-2025 aiming at increasing judicial independence. The overarching goal of the new strategy, approved in March 2021, is to increase the level of independence, quality and accountability of justice by achieving the judiciary’s equal representation in the dialogue between the branches of state power. To this effect, the strategy proposes to entrust the Judicial Council, instead of the executive, with judicial training. It also aims, among others, at strengthening the functioning and the role of the Judicial Council as well as the self-organisation capacity of the judiciary. This is important to reinforce the operational autonomy of courts, as the Judicial Council only gives opinions in relation to the financing of the judiciary, and the Supreme Court is the only national court which plans and requests its budget independently. A new Code of Ethics for judges has been adopted. In February 2021, a new Code of Judicial Ethics was adopted by the Judicial Ethics Commission. It replaced the one in place since 1995, which had become obsolete in several respects. In particular, the new Code is designed as a set of principles instead of detailed rules of conduct, and no longer deals with situations that are now covered by law or regulations. On average, the Commission processes between 10 and 20 cases of alleged violation of ethics per year. While the Commission decides simple cases, more serious violations are referred for decision and disciplinary measures to the Judicial Disciplinary Board. In 2020, a member of the judiciary was disciplined for breaching restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quality The level of digitalisation of courts and the prosecution services is high and efforts are ongoing to develop it further. As reported last year, the deployment of ICT by the Latvian justice system is among the most advanced in the EU, especially for case management and court activity statistics, communication with court parties and online publication of judgments, most of which are machine-readable. The project to introduce an e-Case Management System to modernise the recording of procedural actions and the digitalisation of record-keeping is making progress. In the first phase, the Government plans to include the investigation and judicial process, and the full implementation is planned for 2023. In 2020, as part of the pilot project, eleven courtrooms were equipped with screens for the examination of cases online, and the plan is to equip most courtrooms by the end of 2021. However, following a performance audit, the State Audit Office concluded that the program management of the e-Case project must be improved. The availability of secure electronic communication tools for the prosecution services still requires further development, particularly concerning their communication with defence lawyers, detention facilities, investigative authorities and courts. Such secure electronic communication channels would support the more expedient and efficient preparation of the proceedings in front of the court. The Government intends to create a new training centre, centralising all training in the judiciary, by the end of 2024. Training for judges and court staff is currently provided by the Latvian Judicial Training Centre, established as a foundation in 1995 and based on a multiannual agreement. This institutional model lacks stability in terms of long-term planning of the training in the justice system, as the contract is periodically subject to public procurement. Moreover, funds allocated to judicial training are currently managed by the Court Administration, an institution subordinated to the Ministry of Justice, with limited input from the judiciary. The Judicial Council approves the content of the training programmes of judges and court employees, whereas the Prosecutor General’s Office is responsible for initial and continuous in-service training of prosecutors. The new training centre would become a single training institution for judges and prosecutors, as well as specialised investigators, judicial staff and assistant prosecutors. In its Strategy for 2021-2025, the Judicial Council announced its objective “to take over the training of judges from the executive branch”, and its involvement in the setting up and management of the training centre would provide an opportunity to meet this objective. The creation of the training centre would bring more institutional and financial stability to the training and further increase the quality of the Latvian justice system. The new training centre is planned to adopt an interdisciplinary training approach, and to cover all professionals involved in the administration of justice, which is in line with the Strategy on European judicial training for 2021-2024 of the European Commission and the conclusions of the Council of the EU on promoting the training of judicial professionals. It would be important that the judiciary (judges and prosecutors) itself be involved in the governance, supervision and setting of priorities of the new training centre, in line with European standards. The newly created Economic Court is becoming operational. The Court has jurisdiction over certain types of civil cases as well as corruption cases and economic and financial crimes. The Court is planned to have ten judges and 21 administrative assistants. The Economic Court started working from 31 March 2021 and, thus far, nine out of its ten judges, with varied professional (including financial) background, but none of them having been judges before, have been appointed following the new selection procedure mentioned above. In order to provide professional support to the new judges of the Economic Court, the Judicial Council ensured mentoring support. They were each assigned a mentor and offered specialised training on legislation related to money laundering, as well as commercial, competition and financial law. Training related to insurance matters is planned in the second half of 2021. It is expected that the Economic Court will deal with between 250 and 500 cases per year, which would require sufficient resources as regards both staff and training, so that complex economic and financial cases can be efficiently handled. The Ministry of Justice is monitoring closely the development related to the activity of the court and intends to review the situation after the first year of operations. The Judicial Council operates with a shortage of resources. The 2020 Rule of Law Report found that, despite gaining new powers, the Judicial Council is experiencing a shortage of human resources, which could impede the exercise of its new powers. Since then, there were no developments regarding financial and human resources. One of the budgetary priorities of the Supreme Court for 2022-2024 is building the capacity of the Judicial Council by creating additional positions for an adviser and a consultant. Efficiency The justice system remained efficient despite the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the length of court proceedings in civil, commercial and administrative cases, measured in disposition time, remains at average or shorter than average level in EU comparative terms. The number of pending cases, already among the lowest in the EU, shows a slightly decreasing trend. The clearance rate remains above 100%, meaning that courts are able to cope with incoming cases. Further progress could be observed as regards the average length of proceedings in cases involving money laundering, which further decreased to 212 days in 2019 (303 in 2018). The average length of proceedings remained stable in 2020, with a slight decrease in civil, criminal and administrative cases in first instance courts and a slight increase in civil and criminal cases in second instance. In February 2020, the Judicial Council called on the Supreme Court to set up a working group to analyse the causes for lengthy proceedings in civil, criminal and administrative matters. The working group submitted three reports to the Council of the Judiciary on the rules of procedure, concluding that while each type of procedure presents distinctive challenges, judges are the facilitators of all procedures and therefore emphasis should be put on their training.

II.Anti-Corruption Framework The legislative and institutional framework to prevent and prosecute corruption is broadly in place. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is a specialised body with competence to investigate corruption-related offences and prevent corruption. The General Prosecutor’s Office supervises pre-trial investigations of corruption-related offences conducted by the KNAB. Other institutions with anti-corruption competences are the State Police, which investigates corruption in private institutions and fraud; the Internal Security Bureau, which investigates corruption-related criminal offences committed by the officials of the institutions subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior; the Internal Security Board of the State Revenue Service, which investigates criminal offences committed by State Revenue Service officials, and the State Border Guard, which investigates corruption involving State Border Guard's officers. The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in the public sector remains relatively high. In the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Latvia scores 57/100 and ranks 12th in the European Union and 42th globally. This perception has been relatively stable over the past five years. A new Action Plan to prevent corruption is under preparation. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has started drafting the Corruption Prevention and Combating Action Plan for 2021-2024, which is due for adoption in summer 2021. National legislation in force criminalises corruption and related offences, including the abuse of office, domestic and foreign bribery, and trading in influence. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau has expanded its investigative capacity. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau’s (KNAB) competences in preventing corruption include the monitoring of conflicts of interest and political party financing as well as investigation of corruption-related offences. KNAB has an allocated annual budget of around EUR 6.6 million from the State budget. In addition, it receives annually special funding from the Ministry of Justice (Fund for Confiscation of Criminal Assets) of about EUR 200,000 to improve the efficiency of its special criminal intelligence operational activities. As of December 2020, the KNAB has recruited additional staff, mainly investigators and financial analysts. It also improved staff salary conditions to align them with the level of other public institutions. In 2020, KNAB initiated 39 criminal proceedings, while 23 cases were transferred to the prosecution. The investigation and prosecution of corruption-related offences continues to be a shared task among different authorities. The General Prosecutor’s Office supervises pre-trial investigations of corruption-related offences conducted by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau. Since the beginning of 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office has dealt with 204 cases, and EUR 7 million of illicit funds were confiscated. The scarcity of human resources, as compared to the workload, is a challenge for the office. The Internal Security Bureau detects, prevents and investigates crimes committed by the officials and employees under the Ministry of Interior, such as the State police. The State police has rules for integrity in place. In 2020, the State Border Guard forwarded 29 criminal cases to the Prosecutor's Office with a proposal to initiate criminal prosecution, including one case involving one official of the State Border Guard. Between 2020 and 2021, there were 14 criminal cases involving State Revenue Service (SRS) officers, including bribery and organised crime involving high-ranking officers. An action plan aims to address the State Audit Office recommendations on improving the quality of investigation and prosecution of economic and financial crimes. In December 2020, the State Audit Office published the results of its performance review on the effectiveness of investigations and trials of the criminal offences in the economic and financial area, and issued recommendations in order to improve operational efficiency of the Prosecutor’s Office. One of the findings of the performance review was that while there is no shortage of resources in the Prosecutor’s Office, there is room for improvement in terms of management, governance structure, division of responsibilities between different offices, specialisation of prosecutors. In April 2021, the Crime Prevention Council, a governmental consultative body, approved, with involvement of the Office of Prosecutor General, a two-year action plan to address the State Audit Office’s recommendations. Latvia continues to develop its integrity framework for the prevention of conflicts of interest, whereas restrictions on post-employment remain almost unchanged. A series of amendments to the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Activities of Public Officials are pending final approval by the Parliament. In January 2021, amendments to the definition of public officials covered by the law to include members of the Public Electronic Media Council entered into force. In July 2020, the prohibition for members of Parliament and Government and for parliament secretaries to receive payments for positions held in associations, foundations or social enterprises that have received funding from the Government also entered into force. The Parliament is currently discussing whether to extend this prohibition to heads of municipal councils and their deputies. Restrictions to prevent conflicts of interest are limited and there have been little developments since 2018. Lobbying remains unregulated, while the draft legislation continues to be discussed by the Parliament. To date, there are no rules on lobbying transparency and only a few cases of voluntary publication of meetings between public representatives and lobbyists have been reported. In January 2021, the Parliament’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee approved a set of principles on openness and transparency, outlining the prospective content and scope of the lobbying law. According to these principles, the law would need to include, among others, a broad definition of interest representatives, a single mandatory lobby register and sanctions. Moreover, the law would cover activities influencing decisions of members of Parliament, local and national governments, legislative bodies and top executives. The proposal was subject to a public consultation in early 2021, although there is no set date for parliamentary approval. Nevertheless, each public institution currently has a code of ethics, with a specific chapter on lobbying. The oversight and implementation of the codes of ethics are under the competence of trusted persons of ethics, which is a temporary one-year role performed by a selected officer within each institution. Whistleblowing systems are being implemented. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is the competent authority to admit and process whistleblowing reports on alleged corruption and conflict of interest related offences received by the State Chancellery and any other competent authority. In 2020, the State Chancellery received 517 submissions of general complaints, including 122 qualified as whistle-blowers reports (compared to 119 in 2019). In 2020, the KNAB received a total of 53 whistleblower reports, of which 13 were recognised as such, 17 were transferred to other competent authorities, and 23 were not recognised as whistleblower reports. To date, some entities have not received any reports from whistleblowers, thus awareness-raising activities of this reporting channel continues. The government issued guidelines to cope with the increased risk of corruption in public procurement related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government developed a series of guidelines in May 2020 on how to mitigate corruption risk through the existing procurement law. The State Audit Office conducted a number of audits regarding the COVID-19 emergency spending, covering over 90% of funds spent in 2020 for this purpose. As a new practice, the State Audit Office did not wait for the auditees to submit the financial reports, and issued its audit recommendations immediately after the spending finished, so the recommendations could be implemented quickly. III.Media Pluralism And Media Freedom The Latvian legal framework is based on a set of constitutional safeguards and legislative measures, such as the Electronic Mass Media Law (EMML). Legislation has been adopted to transpose the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The Law on the Press and Other Mass Media establishes the right for the press to access information held by the state bodies and public organisations and prohibits censorship. Access to public information is also guaranteed by the Freedom of Information Law. The media regulator, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEMMC), is set up by and functions in compliance with the EMML. The independence of the media regulator – NEMMC – has been strengthened, but its remit has been reduced. In December 2020, the Parliament adopted the Act amending the Electronic Mass Media Law, transposing the revised Audio-Visual Media Services Directive, which enhances the independence of the NEMMC. In particular, the Act includes a new provision stipulating that the NEMCC “shall not seek or take instructions from any other authority” . The Act also envisages that the funding necessary for carrying out the functions of the NEMCC, including participation in the work of European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services, shall be allocated from the State budget. However, following the entry into force of the new Law on Public Electronic Mass Media and their Management (LPEMMM) in December 2020, the NEMCC is no longer responsible for supervising the operations of the public service media. The new Law established two new independent authorities for this purpose - the Public Electronic Mass Media Council (PEMMC) and the Public Electronic Mass Media Ombudsperson - with the aim of ensuring the independence and promoting quality of public electronic media. In May 2021, the first of three PEMMC members has been proposed, pending final approval by the Parliament. The availability of information on media ownership to the public raises concerns. As described in the 2020 Rule of Law Report, new provisions on transparency of media ownership were introduced with the amendments to the EMML. They oblige prospective service providers to submit information on their beneficial owners to the National Electronic Mass Media Council, and existing service providers to submit information on any changes of the beneficial owner. However, the MPM 2021 indicator of transparency of media ownership continues to register a high risk, given that there are no obligations for media companies to disclose their ownership structures directly to the general public and without payment. Since all companies registered in Latvia, including media outlets, are obliged to provide the information on beneficial owners to the Register of Enterprises, the public retains the possibility to obtain such information from that Register. News media concentration is considered to be high, in particular due to high concentration in different media sub-sectors. The authorities have taken steps to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the media. In order to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, the Latvian Government has allocated around EUR 3,5 million to the media sector in 2020. Funds were distributed for covering fixed costs and for content creation projects, including analytical and investigative journalism projects. Some concerns were raised about journalists’ access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal guarantees for the right to access information and journalists’ protection are in place. However, concerns were expressed about the availability of information during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular as reporters were not able to participate in the governmental meetings, while previously their presence in generally open meetings was the rule. Journalists appear to continue to face personal attacks online. At the end of 2020 and in 2021, the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists did not register any alerts concerning Latvia. Nevertheless, it appears that journalists continue to face attacks in the online environment, often from politicians and political communication companies. IV.Other Institutional Issues related to Checks and Balances Latvia is a unicameral, parliamentary democracy, in which the Constitutional Court can carry out ex-post constitutional review, including in concrete cases on the basis of a constitutional complaint. Draft laws may be submitted to the Parliament by the President, the Government, Parliamentary committees, at least five members of the Parliament, or one-tenth of the electorate. In addition to the justice system, also the Ombudsperson’s Office, acting as a national human rights institute, and civil society play a role in the system of checks and balances.

Measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic were adopted in the framework of the state of emergency, which ended in April 2021. On 12 March 2020, the Latvian Government adopted the Declaration of Emergency Situation, which ended on 7 April 2021. The declaration contained measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, and was amended a number of times . The up-to-date versions of the applicable rules in different areas of societal life are posted on the Government website in a consolidated and easily readable form, with details available when amendments are made to a particular paragraph (focusing on one type of measures, such as education or restaurants/bars). In June 2020, the Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection entered into force, laying down basic principles for the operation of public authorities. The Parliament continued to work remotely and reviewed Governmental measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the support of the e-Saeima platform, the Parliament worked throughout the emergency situation. As part of its powers, it regularly discussed, first before the committees and then in the plenary, the Government measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Parliament could only approve or reject ex post the Government measures that mostly had already entered into force under the state of emergency and could not amend them. Nevertheless, in the course of preliminary discussions, which the Ombudsperson also regularly attended, the Parliament provided guidance to the Government in the formulation and adoption of future measures and the amendments to existing ones. The Ombudsperson’s Office was re-accredited with A status and continued to monitor measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, the Ombudsperson's Office was re-accredited as “A Status” institution, in compliance with the Paris Principles. In January 2021, taking into account recommendations by the GANHRI Sub-Committee on Accreditations, amendments to the Ombudsman Law were adopted providing that the Ombudsperson’s appointment shall be approved by the Parliament pursuant to the proposal of no less than ten members of Parliament (previously five members) and that the same person can be Ombudsperson for a maximum of two terms (of five years each). The Ombudsperson has continued to play its role of monitoring the Government’s measures and their impact on human rights, expressing opinions and making recommendations to EU and national policy makers, in particular as regards the need to respect and promote economic and social rights, the right to healthcare and the importance of engaging in transparent communication with the public. The Ombudsperson also monitored the Government's decisions taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that restrictions were adequate, and that the public was informed in a timely and accurate manner. The Government adopted guidelines for the development of a more cohesive civil society and allocated financial support to NGOs to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The civic space in Latvia is still considered to be narrowed . The guidelines for the period 2021-2027 set out the lines of action requiring investments, as well as the planned funding for each action, in order to make citizens more knowledgeable, active and ready participate in the development of the country. In December 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers examined and approved an informative report prepared by the Ministry of Culture “on support to associations and foundations to mitigate the negative consequences of the COVID-19 crisis”, which concluded that the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to affect about half of the NGOs registered in Latvia, in particular public benefit organisations. The Government therefore decided to allocate EUR 600 000 from funds for unforeseen events to the NGO support programme for alleviating the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The programme is implemented by the Society Integration Fund, granting funding through an open call for tenders for NGO projects to be implemented by 30 June 2021. Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* * The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2021 Rule of Law report can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/upholding-rule-law/rule-law/rule-law-mechanism/2021-rule-law-report-targeted-stakeholder-consultation . Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2021), Media pluralism monitor 2021. Civicus, Monitor tracking civic space – Latvia ( https://monitor.civicus.org/country/latvia/ ). Consultative Council of the European judges (2003), Opinion no. 4 of the Consultative Council of the European judges (CCJE) on Appropriate Initial and In-service Training for Judges at national and European Levels, 27 November 2003, ( https://rm.coe.int/1680747d37 ). Council of Europe: Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, Latvia ( https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/latvia ). Council of the European Union (2021), Council conclusions: Boosting training of justice professionals, 10 March 2021 ( https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6926-2021-INIT/en/pdf ). Directorate-General for Communication (2019), Flash Eurobarometer 482: businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU. Directorate-General for Communication (2020), Special Eurobarometer 502: corruption. European Commission (2020), Rule of Law Report, Country chapter on the rule of law situation in Latvia. European Commission (2021), EU Justice Scoreboard. European Network of National Human Rights Institutions- ENHRI (2021), Contribution from ENHRI to the 2021 Rule of Law Report. GRECO (2017), Fifth evaluation round - Evaluation Report on Latvia on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies, 12 April 2017, ( https://rm.coe.int/fifth-evaluation-round-preventing-corruption-and-promoting-integrity-i/16808cdc91 ). Judicial Council (2021), Strategy of the Judicial Council 2021-2025, 12 March 2021, ( http://www.at.gov.lv/files/uploads/files/9_Tieslietu_padome/Dokumenti/Strategy%20of%20the%20Judicial%20Council_2021_2025_EN.docx ). Judicial Council (2021), The Judicial Council sets a strategic overarching goal – equal representation in the dialogue between branches of state power, 16 March 2021, ( https://www.at.gov.lv/en/jaunumi/par-tieslietu-padomi/the-judicial-council-sets-a-strategic-overarching-goal-equal-representation-in-the-dialogue-between-branches-of-state-power-10511?year=2021&month=03 ). Judicial Council (2021), Call for the support of judges of the Economic Court and their mentors, 16 March 2021, ( https://www.at.gov.lv/en/jaunumi/par-tieslietu-padomi/call-for-the-support-of-judges-of-the-economic-court-and-their-mentors-10517?year=2021&month=03 ).

Judicial Council (2021), Press release: The procedure for selecting candidates for the position of a judge has been improved, 16 April 2021, ( https://www.at.gov.lv/en/jaunumi/par-tieslietu-padomi/the-procedure-for-selecting-candidates-for-the-position-of-a-judge-has-been-improved-10572?year=2021&month=04 ). Judicial Ethics Commission (2021), Code of Judicial Ethics ( https://www.at.gov.lv/files/uploads/files/9_Tieslietu_padome/Dokumenti/CODE%20OF%20JUDICIAL%20ETHICS_EN.pdf ). Latvian Government (2020), Consolidated text of the Declaration of Emergency Situation ( https://likumi.lv/ta/id/313191-par-arkartejas-situacijas-izsludinasanu ). Latvian Government (2021), Guidelines for the Development of a Cohesive and Civically Active Society for 2021-2027 ( https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/?action=media.download&uuid=B9FF61AF-D647-ED7F-40DF9BEB015B4B91 ). OECD (2021), Performance of the Prosecution Services in Latvia - A Comparative Study, 11 January 2021, ( https://www.oecd.org/gov/performance-of-the-prosecution-services-in-latvia-c0113907-en.htm ). Reporters without Borders – Latvia ( https://rsf.org/en/latvia ). Riga City Council (2021), Lobby register (lobija reģistrs), 12-25 January 2021, ( https://www.riga.lv/lv/lobija-registrs ). State Audit Office (2020), Performance audit Effectiveness of investigations and trials of the criminal offences in the economic and financial area, 23 December 2020, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/audit-summaries/audit-summaries/effectiveness-of-investigations-and-trials-of-the-criminal-offences-in-the-economic-and-financial-area ). State Audit Office (2021), Auditing COVID-19 emergency spending – Completed Audits, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/covid-19/auditing-covid-19-emergency-spending/completed-audits ). State Audit Office (2021), Press release: The e-case program management must be improved, 11 January 2021, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/news/the-e-case-program-management-must-be-improved ). State Audit Office (2021), Press release: The State Audit Office calls on the investigating institutions and the Prosecutor’s Office to cooperate closely, 11 January 2021, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/news/the-state-audit-office-calls-on-the-investigating-institutions-and-the-prosecutors-office-to-cooperate-closely ). State Audit Office (2021), Press release: The State Audit Office concludes that a better-organised work of the Prosecutor’s Office would improve the quality, 11 January 2021, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/news/the-state-audit-office-concludes-that-a-better-organised-work-of-the-prosecutors-office-would-improve-the-quality ). State Audit Office (2021), Summary of Key Audit Findings and Recommendations – Does the operation of the Prosecutors’ Office require and improvements?, 11 January 2021, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/getrevisionfile/29451-x7eOREdleVjooAPJNz2qy1gsIx0fOZSw.pdf ). State Audit Office (2021), Press release: Plan to implement the SAO’s recommendations for streamlining prosecution of economic and financial crimes, 15 April 2021, ( https://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/news/plan-to-implement-the-saos-recommendations-for-streamlining-prosecution-of-economic-and-financial-crimes ). State Police (2020), Code of Ethics of the State Police ( https://www.vp.gov.lv/en/ethics ). Transparency International (2021), Corruption Perceptions Index 2020, Significant Changes, ( https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/nzl ). Annex II: Country visit to Latvia The Commission services held virtual meetings in April and May 2021 with: ·Parliament’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee

·Parliamentary Working group for the elaboration of a lobbying transparency law ·Ministry of Foreign Affairs ·Ministry of Justice ·Ministry of the Interior ·Ministry of Culture ·Supreme Court ·Judicial Council ·Economic Court ·Prosecutor’s Office ·National Electronic Mass Media Council ·Ombudsperson’s Office ·State Audit Office ·Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) ·State Police ·State Border Guard ·Internal Security Board of the State Revenue Service ·State Chancellery ·Association of Journalists ·Association of Judges ·Council of Lawyers

·Delna – TI Latvia ·Providus ·Civic Alliance Latvia * The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings: ·Amnesty International ·Center for Reproductive Rights ·CIVICUS ·Civil Liberties Union for Europe ·Civil Society Europe ·Conference of European Churches ·EuroCommerce ·European Center for Not-for-Profit Law ·European Centre for Press and Media Freedom ·European Civic Forum ·European Federation of Journalists ·European Partnership for Democracy ·European Youth Forum ·Front Line Defenders ·Human Rights House Foundation