On 15 December in Paris, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the President of France Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Senate Gérard Larcher, and the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet to discuss bilateral cooperation between Latvia and France, European security and defence, support for Ukraine, and current items on the European Union agenda.
During the meetings with senior French officials, President Rinkēvičs expressed gratitude for France’s significant role in strengthening NATO’s Eastern flank, as demonstrated by France’s participation in the Baltic Air Policing mission, the NATO battlegroup in Estonia, and France’s leadership in maintaining transatlantic dialogue and supporting Ukraine.
In his conversation with President Macron, E. Rinkēvičs called for the continued provision of financial and military assistance to Ukraine, as well as sustained pressure on Russia.
The parties exchanged views on the proposed Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union for the next period. President Rinkēvičs emphasised that a sufficiently large EU budget is needed to finance both traditional policies and new challenges. He reaffirmed that Latvia’s interests lie in continuing territorial, economic, and social convergence, and in providing support to regions most affected by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It is also essential to secure funding for the Rail Baltica project, which is a dual-use project within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility. Equally important is ensuring EU funding for security and defence, including for strengthening the eastern border, and guaranteeing equal competitive conditions for all EU farmers.
“The European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework for the next period must reflect geopolitical realities and demonstrate the EU’s ambitions. Therefore, a sufficiently large budget is needed to finance both new challenges, particularly in security and defence, and traditional policies such as cohesion and agriculture. It is also essential to invest significantly in strengthening the European Union's competitiveness, which must be achieved through a balanced regional approach whereby businesses in larger member states actively cooperate with those from smaller ones,” emphasized E. Rinkēvičs.
The President of Latvia expressed his conviction that an economically resilient, digital, and competitive European Union must be a priority, as the aim is a fully functioning EU single market with fair competition, both internally and globally. “It is likewise in our interest that the largest EU economies, such as France, remain resilient and competitive on the global market. Close cooperation among European businesses is essential, including through the use of technologies originating from smaller member states, such as Latvia. However, this can only be achieved by reducing the regulatory and administrative burden on companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups. The European Union must evolve into a next-generation technology economy, with a strong focus on research, innovation, digitalization, and future technologies,” President Rinkēvičs underlined.
The working visit to Paris is taking place at the invitation of the President of France.
