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The public media lsm.lv reports that, according to the General Secretariat, the travel expenses of the Latvian delegation to the European Council summits, which were financed from the European Union (EU) budget in the period 2019 to 2022, amounted to 557,274 euros of the European Council on the “What is happening in Latvia?” program.
During this period, a total of 15 meetings of European heads of state and government took place, to which Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (“New Unity”) traveled with a delegation via charter flights in private planes. Information about all European Union (EU) countries shows that the amount paid to Latvia is the largest – more than a fifth of all payments, the media reports.
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Read more about the study: lsm.lv
BNN already reported that, according to the State Chancellery (VK), the former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš (JV), traveled with an average of six employees on state-paid private flights between 2021 and 2023.
On May 7, 2021, Kariņš left Riga for Porto, Portugal, where the informal European Council took place on May 7 and 8. The former Prime Minister was accompanied in the delegation by Astra Kurme, Assistant Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for European Affairs, Lelde Līce-Līcīte, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign and European Union (EU) Affairs. Ieva Zīberga, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Policy Planning and Communication, Jana, Second Secretary of the State Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Trahimović and representative of the State Security Service (VDD). The cost of using the private plane was 45,000 euros.
On October 5, 2021, Kariņš traveled to the Informal European Council in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The delegation included Kurme, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Dana Goldfinch, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on EU Affairs, Reinis Brusbārdis, representatives of Sīberg, Trahimović and VDD. 33,200 euros were paid for the use of the private plane.
On November 10, 2021, Kariņš left Riga and traveled to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chairman of the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union parliamentary group Ralfs Brinkhaus, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, as well as high-ranking representatives from all parties Parties form the new German coalition. Brusbardis, the representative of Sieberg, Trahimovic and VDD, traveled to Berlin with Karina. The cost of using the private plane was 27,000 euros.
On December 1, 2021, Kariņš traveled to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. He traveled to Paris together with Kariņa, Brusbardis, Goldfinch, Sieberg, Trahimović, the VDD representative and the official delegation photographer Gatis Rosenfelds. VK had a service agreement with an employee of SIA “Picture Agency” for the provision of photography services. 39,600 euros were paid for the use of the private plane.
Read also: More than 1,300,000 euros were spent: the General Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the rental of aircraft for the needs of Kariņš
Last year, on January 19, 2022, Kariņš traveled from Riga to Warsaw, where he met with Polish Prime Minister Mateuš Moravecki. The delegation included Sieberg, Goldfinch, Brusbardis, Trahimovic, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD. 26,000 euros were paid for the use of the private plane.
On February 10 last year, the former Prime Minister traveled from Riga to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In the delegation, Kariņa was accompanied by Brusbārdis, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Jānis Patmalnieks, Rozenfeld, Trahimović and a representative of the VDD. The flight costs amounted to 31,470 euros.
On February 17, 2022, Kariņš left Riga for Brussels, where he met with Lithuanian President Gitan Nausėdas, Estonian Prime Minister Kai Kallas and German Chancellor Scholz. On that day, the former prime minister also attended the European Union-African Union summit. On the other hand, on February 18, Kariņš met with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. The delegation included Goldfinch, Prime Minister’s press secretary Sandris Sabajevs and a representative of the VDD. 28,050 euros were paid for the use of the private plane.
On March 10, 2022, the former Prime Minister left Riga and traveled to Paris, where the informal European Council took place on March 10-11. Kurme, Brusbārdis, Sīberga, Trahimovića, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD attended the meeting together with Kariņa. The cost of this flight was 44,150 euros.
On March 14 last year, Kariņš traveled from Riga to London, where he attended the meeting of leaders of the Joint Response Force (JEF) member states on March 14 and 15 and met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Together with Kariņa, Goldfinch, Sieberg, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on National Security Affairs Māris Cepurītis, Trahimović, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD, they traveled on a working visit. The flight costs amounted to 42,960 euros.
On the other hand, on June 2 last year, Kariņš met with Slovak Prime Minister Edvard Häger and took part in the high-level conference “Globsec 2022 Bratislava Forum”. Together with Kariņa, Brusbardis, Sieberg, Trahimovica, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD traveled to Slovakia. The cost of this flight was 14,337 euros.
The former prime minister returned to Riga on June 14 last year from The Hague, where he had traveled on a scheduled flight from a visit to Spain, where he had also flown on a scheduled flight. In The Hague, Kariņš met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of several NATO-allied countries and governments. The delegation included Sieberg, Goldfinch, Rosenfeld, Trahimovic and a representative of the VDD. The flight cost 29,500 euros.
On August 30 last year, Kariņš traveled from Riga to Copenhagen, where he took part in the summit of the Baltic Sea states. Brusbärdis, Sieberga, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD traveled together with Kariņa on the working visit. The flight cost 37,400 euros.
On September 4, 2022, Kariņš traveled from Riga to Berlin to take part in the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Baltic States, meet with German politicians and accept the International Prize of the Foundation for Consistent Defense of the Free Market Economy. Implementation of a market-oriented economic policy, at the awarding of the international prize of the Friedrich Hayek Foundation. and budget policy. Together with Prime Minister Brusbārdis, Sīberga, the third secretary of the State Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sabīna Švāne, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD traveled on a working visit. The cost of this flight was 42,600 euros.
On October 6 last year, the former prime minister left Riga for Prague, where he attended the meeting of the European political community and met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal. The informal European Council took place in Prague on October 7th. Brusbardis, Sieberga, Švane, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD took part in the delegation together with the Prime Minister. The flight cost 36,250 euros.
On March 17 this year, after a visit to Ukraine, Kariņš returned to Riga from Rzeszów, Poland, where he met for talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal the future necessary support in Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression and in Ukraine’s integration efforts in Europe in the Union and NATO.
According to VK, a regular flight was flown to Warsaw. To reach the capital of Ukraine, road transport and train were used, while a train was used to return to Poland. VK states that the return journey from Poland was not possible on a regular flight that day, which is why a special flight from Rzeszów was used. Zīberga, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Gunta Pastore, Cepurītis, Third Secretary of the State Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sabīna Švāne-Stankeviča (formerly Švāne), two representatives of the Ministry of Defense visited Kariņa on a working visit. The photographer Rosenfelds went to the country as a consultant for photo services, images, infographics and video production on current topics. 20,205 euros were paid for the use of the private plane.
On June 1, Kariņš traveled from Riga to the meeting of the European Political Community in Chisinau. Chisinau airport was closed to regular flights during the summit. Together with the Prime Minister, Sieberga, Brusbärdis, Rosenfeld, Švane-Stankevičas and a representative of the VDD traveled on a working visit. The flight costs amounted to 35,383 euros.
On June 20, after chairing the government meeting, Kariņš traveled to London, where he took part in bilateral meetings and, on June 21, in a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine. The return to Riga took place by scheduled flight. The delegation included Patmalnieks, Pastore, Rosenfeld, Švane-Stankeviča and a representative of the VDD. The flight cost 30,775 euros.
On July 17, the former Prime Minister traveled to the third EU-Latin American and Caribbean Community (EU-CELAC) Summit, held in Brussels on July 17 and 18. The delegation included Sieberga, Brusbärdis, Rosenfeld and a representative of the VDD. The flight costs amounted to 49,950 euros.
LETA already wrote that, according to the Ministry of Justice, the special flights planned for the delegations during Kariņas’ term as Prime Minister from September 2021 to September 2023 cost 613,830 euros from the state budget.
Politicians from the “United List” (AS) have shown interest in the special flights during Kariņš’s time and have asked for the following information to be provided.
AS wanted to find out about the services of private airlines that Kariņš had used during his term as prime minister. The information in this regard was prepared by Jānis Citskovskis, Director of the Ministry of Interior, in accordance with the decision of Prime Minister Evikas Silinas (JV).
The Court of Auditors is expected to evaluate the services of private airlines used by Kariņš during his term as prime minister early next year. On the other hand, as the TV3 program reports, the General Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the practice of renting private planes for Kariņas’ work needs.
As reported, Kariņš agreed with the criticism of the use of private air transport, but emphasized that thanks to them he was able to meet world leaders as quickly as possible under difficult logistical conditions, thereby improving Latvia’s role in the EU and strengthen NATO. according to Kariņš’s statement to the LETA agency.
Kariņš also emphasized that it is always possible to improve the procedures, in this case the procedure by which the highest state officials are able to use the services of special flights and the amount of funds allocated for this.
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