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The National Coordination of EU Policy in Latvia 87
by the MFA, although the Deputy State Secretary in EU Affairs 12 runs the
Committee. The agenda items are set by the head of the CSO, though other
members can also request that certain issues are discussed. The CSO prepares
for meetings of COREPER and meetings of the Council at ministerial
level. New EU proposals are also discussed. Although a two-thirds majority
decision rule applies, decisions are usually taken by unanimity. If a member
of the Committee is dissatisfied with the direction of discussion, the head of
the CSO or the lead ministry may propose to put the issue to the Cabinet.
Second, the MFA is the central coordinating actor and has corresponding
powers. The MFA’s role increased after 1 May 2004 and since 2005 it
has been both the lead ministry responsible for foreign affairs issues and the
ministry tasked with the overall coordination of the preparation of Latvia’s
positions. The MFA follows developments at every level of EU decision
making, manages communications between the Permanent Representation
and the national capital, and circulates information between ministries. The
negotiating positions drafted by the line ministries or working groups must
be approved by the EAC. While instructions for Council working groups
are sent by the line ministries to representatives in Brussels, instructions for
meetings of COREPER are communicated to the MFA EU Coordination
Department, which has formal responsibility for transmitting instructions
to the PR. The MFA can intervene if formal procedures are not followed
and in those rare cases where the negotiating position is of insufficient
quality. In addition, the MFA prepares the PM for the European Council
meetings and other meetings of EU institutions, as well as formulating
general proposals on how state policy on the EU should develop.
At the same time, the PM’s role has diminished since the final stage of
pre-accession. While the responsibilities previously performed by the EIB
were transferred, the EIC was abolished and any issues that need discussion
at political level are considered by the Cabinet. The PM has very few
resources as far as EU policy is concerned. A direct link is kept with the
MFA in preparing for the European Council and other key meetings. A special
EU advisor was also appointed to assist the PM during 2007–2009 and
2014. The special advisor was a political appointee and member of the PM’s
private office. The advisor supported the PM in preparation for the European
12
Amendments to the Regulation of Cabinet of Ministers Nr. 842 “Regulation of the CSO on
EU issues”. Regulation Nr. 983, Cabinet of Ministers, 2005c.