Latvia

The XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival had 40.560 participants, according to information from the Latvian National Culture Centre, second highest number of participants in the history of the event

Due to Saeima's non-compliance with a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling, the Constitutional Court declared the regulations on the language of implementation of university curricula to be unconstitutional and thus annulled as of 1 July 2024

Organisers of XXVII National Celebration of Latvian Song and Dance accepted two recommendations: invite Latvian municipalities to fly the national flag from 2 to 9 July and encourage workplaces in Riga to organise remote work

In 2021, the average number of passenger cars per inhabitant in the EU increased from 0,53 to 0,57, with the equivalent figure for Latvia (0,40) considerably below the EU average, but still at the highest level ever reached

From 29 March to 21 April this year, the volume of textile waste recycled increased by 15% thanks to the environmental campaigns implemented by the Latvian Green Dot and Eco Baltia Environment; figures compare to the previous month

In the upcoming future, seven disaster management centres will be planned and built in the country as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan approved by the Council of Ministers

State Employment Agency has made job opportunities available to students during the summer holidays; electronic applications are open until 17 August

The municipal administration has confirmed the opening of taps at free drinking water points scattered around Riga

The country is expected to become the least populous of the Baltic states by 2060 and to have a population of just over one million by the end of the century, according to Eurostat data

The government approved a plan to increase teachers' salaries proposed by the Ministry of Education and Science

Central Finance and Procurement Agency issued a further invitation to municipalities to use Recovery Fund funding for the purchase of electric cars for school transport, with still EUR 3,7 million available for this purpose

Parliament approved amendments to ban the sale of tobacco products, substitute products, herbal smoking products, electronic smoking devices and fillers to persons under 20 years of age