Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Latvian president and key ministers during an official visit to discuss the priorities of the country's upcoming Committee of Ministers presidency (May - November 2023).
Meeting Latvian President Egils Levits, the Secretary General welcomed the Latvian presidency's priorities to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law across Europe and discussed preparations for the Fourth Summit of the Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik (16th - 17th May), co-ordinated by the Icelandic presidency.
She met Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs with discussions including the presidency's priority actions, the issue of accountability for Russia's aggression against Ukraine, European Union accession to the European Convention of Human Rights and the ratification of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210), known as the "Istanbul Convention".
Meetings with Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Education Minister Anda Čakša, the Speaker of the Saeima (Latvia parliament) Edvards Smiltēns and the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly were also on the agenda.
The Secretary General also delivered a lecture at the Riga Graduate School of Law on: "Europe at a crossroads - Council of Europe and key challenges to democracy, human rights and rule of law".
