OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2008. Tomorrow, on June 19, and on June 20, Maris Riekstinsh, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will participate in the meeting of the European Council.

The most important issue for Latvia will be development of the EU agriculture sector. Latvia maintains that increased attention should be paid to ensuring equal conditions for competition among farmers of the Member States, in particular in the area of direct payments. This priority will be underlined during discussions on changes in prices of food and oil and on measures which could reduce the impact caused by the rising prices.

Discussion on the freedoms, security and justice will also be important for Latvia. The Latvian Prime Minister will urge the EU Member States to further study and assess crimes of all totalitarian regimes, including Communism, by adopting a respective EU-level legal act. The Prime Minister will also propose stating operation of the second-generation Schengen Information System (starting from September 2009) as a priority of the EU.