Friday, June 5, 2026

Headlines

public funds

During Siliņa’s government, state spending on grants to NGOs and individuals has doubled

Expenditures by ministries and institutions for non-governmental organizations, as well as grants to private individuals over the last four years have more than doubled, according to information compiled by Inc. Thus, in 2022 a total of 98.9 million euros was spent for these purposes, while in 2026, 192.9 million euros is planned to be spent for the same purposes. It should be added that the increase has been consistent and these have not been any exceptions […]

55 over 55: in which NGOs are the highest salaries and dependence on funds?

There are 30,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Latvia, of which only 1% receive funding through the Society Integration Foundation (SIF). Of these 300 organizations, fewer than half, that is 128 associations or foundations, have received SIF funding exceeding 50,000 euros over a three-year period. For 55 organizations, SIF funding has exceeded 100,000 euros. These are 55 NGOs whose activities, without state and various European Union (EU) […]

The state has more than recouped its investments in startups

With the state investing three million euros in startups, the growth of companies has been promoted whose total contributions to the state budget now exceed 52 million. This has been concluded in a study by the Latvian Startup Association, “Support that Pays Off”. The study describes a specific program that was financed by ALTUM but implemented by the fund Imprimatur Capital. From 2013 to 2017, the fund granted 50,000 euros to 60 early-stage technology teams […]

RB Rail officials’ insurance has become more expensive after the establishment of the Investigation Commission and, possibly, Baiba Rubesa’s visit to the Anti-Corruption Bureau

The officials, accountants, procurement committee members of AS RB Rail, the implementer of the Rail Baltica railway project, and their spouses have been insured since the very founding of the company in 2014, Inc. discovered after the previous publication. However, the cost of insurance has increased significantly, following certain events and, ultimately, also due to a reduction in competition among insurers. Considering that after Inc.’s previous publication part of the public has […]

It is planned to insure Rail Baltica officials against liability in project implementation: with a 12-year retroactive date and a compensation limit of up to 20 million

Having sensed the smell of burning, AS RB Rail, which is the implementer of the Rail Baltica railway project and is owned by the governments of the three Baltic states, on December 23 last year announced a procurement for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The procurement specification stipulates that the insurance must cover the liability of both current and former members of the management and supervisory boards, as well as other persons, including those who have left […]

Stiga RM employee simultaneously also an independent consultant in the Ministry of Agriculture’s forestry consulting program

At the end of last year, we wrote about how senior employees of LVM, who were directly involved in decision-making on the organization of procurements and the drafting of tender documents at the state-owned company “Latvijas valsts meži”, went to work for one of the industry’s entrepreneurs, including one about whom they had made decisions while at the state company. However, this is not the only situation that shows how some entrepreneurs have become intertwined with ministries […]

SIF NGO co-financing program: the green course and immigrant inclusion with state money

Once, not so long ago, when former New Unity prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš was flying around the world on private flights, the Attīstībai/Par! minister Juris Pūce had only recently resigned, the Covid-19 pandemic in Latvia was reaching ever new records, but there was more money than ever before, the government nevertheless decided to find 425,000 euros from the budget’s contingency funds so that Pūce’s wife Zaiga […]

From this year, members of election commissions will earn 30% more

Contrary to promises not to increase salaries in the public sector, the Cabinet of Ministers (MK) at the end of last year increased the remuneration of members of municipal election commissions and polling station commissions by about 30%, according to information on the MK legal acts portal. The new regulations came into force on January 1 of this year. Thus, if previously the hourly rate of the commission chairperson was 10 to 15 euros, the commission secretary earned from […]

More NGOs will learn to acquire funding; the first 52 organizations have graduated from the NGO incubator created by the SIF

According to an announcement published on December 30 on the SIF website, 52 organizations have graduated from the “NGO incubator” created by the Society Integration Foundation (SIF), which was established in mid-2025. In half a year, the NGO incubator has become a development platform for more than 100 organizations throughout Latvia. In the first NGO incubator cycle, 52 organizations participated, while in the second cycle, which has just started – 58 organizations have been admitted through a competitive selection process. “Looking back at their experience in the incubator, participants particularly highly valued the opportunity to receive individual mentor consultations on […]”

“Stiga RM” new employees could have conflicts of interest; a loophole in the law allows the Anti-Corruption Bureau not to assess and not to establish them

At the beginning of this year, longtime deputy director for wood product sales at AS Latvijas Valsts meži (LVM), Andris Meirāns, changed jobs. Mr. Meirāns held a responsible position: he developed auction and pricing rules and regulations, effectively determining what, to whom, for how much, and under what conditions LVM would sell and deliver timber. For this responsible work Mr. Meirāns was accordingly […]