Top 7 events that have affected (will affect) life in Latvia

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have called on the European Union to build defensive lines on the border with Russia and Belarus.

“The construction of a defence infrastructure system along the EU’s external border with Russia and Belarus will respond to the urgent need to protect the EU from military and hybrid threats,” the four heads of state wrote in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The cost of building such a 700-kilometer defensive line was estimated at approximately 2.5 billion euros.



Riga authorities promise to soon begin to put the city’s bridges and overpasses in order. The construction of new objects is also envisaged. The total cost of the work is more than 300 million euros.

As announced by representatives of the capital’s municipality, construction of an overpass from Tvaika Street to Kundzinsala and the fourth stage of construction work on the Southern Bridge are planned to begin in Riga soon. Repairs to the Zemitani Bridge and reconstruction and repairs to the Vanšu Bridge are also planned.

A new legal institution, partnership, came into force in Latvia on July 1. According to amendments to a number of laws, any couple, including same-sex couples, can now register partnerships.

And shortly after midnight on July 1, the first same-sex couple registered their partnership under the new legislation. Janis and Maksim, who have been living together since 2019, registered their relationship with a notary.

4. Athletes were united with doctors

The Latvian Academy of Sports Education has been merged with the Riga Stradins University. The process of merging the universities is planned for a two-year transition period.

After the reorganization, the sports academy will retain its academic and scientific autonomy, name and symbols. In turn, the university will assume all the rights and obligations of the academy, having developed a coordinated development strategy and created a unified system for studying health and sports sciences.



A ceremony was held at the Adazi Military Base to mark the start of the expansion of the NATO battle group in Latvia. Currently, the Canadian-led NATO Enhanced Presence battle group includes approximately 1,900 troops from Albania, Canada, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and North Macedonia, serving on a rotational basis.

Denmark and Sweden have also promised to send their contingents soon.

Once expanded, the group will become a brigade of 3,500 troops.

The saga surrounding the construction of Rail Baltica continues. Having realized that there is no more money for the construction of the facility, the authorities began to think about what to do next. For now, the following decision has been made – to review the cost of the concluded contracts for the construction of stations.



“The government wants to review all concluded contracts so that there are no price increases in the future and the existing price increases can be prevented,” Prime Minister Evika Silina stated mysteriously.

The problem, however, is that there is no money not only for the station, but also for everything else.

In the spring of 2024, the temperature norm in Latvia was exceeded by 2.4 degrees, reaching +8.3 degrees. According to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, this spring has become the warmest in the entire history of observations, which have been conducted in our country since 1924.

It was 0.8 degrees warmer than the previous record, set in 2014.

All months of this spring have been warmer than normal, with March sharing the title of third warmest March and May sharing the title of second warmest May.