The Latvian Saeima has urgently adopted, in the final reading, amendments to the Law on Restrictions of Activities Threatening National Security. The changes ban deputies of city and municipal councils from travelling to Russia and Belarus.
The amendments were submitted by a group of MPs, including Edmunds Jurēvics, chairman of the New Unity parliamentary faction. All deputies who took part in the vote supported the changes. Most MPs originally elected from the Stability! party chose not to participate in the vote.
The bill adds a new clause to paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the law, extending the ban on travel to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to municipal councillors. The restriction already applied to Saeima deputies and several categories of officials and employees, including persons with access to state secrets, those responsible for the security of critical infrastructure, staff of certain ministries, members of the armed forces, diplomats, and employees of the courts and the prosecution service.
In the explanatory note, the authors said municipal officials have access to detailed information on critical infrastructure, civil defence plans, transport and logistics hubs, and other municipal resources. They argued that a uniform approach is therefore needed for all elected officials. The authors also cited the State Security Service’s assessments of recruitment risks posed by foreign intelligence services and noted publicly reported cases in which individual municipal councillors continued to visit Russia and Belarus for personal or business reasons.
The Saeima Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee backed the amendments in principle on 6 October and asked that they be considered under urgent procedure at the 8 October sitting. As drafted by the sponsors, the restriction also covers transit through the territory of Russia and Belarus.
