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Juncker, Straujuma meet on Latvian presidency of Council of EU

Xinhua, January 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Latvian presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with the College of the European Commission and the Latvian government in Riga on Thursday.

Juncker met with Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma to deal with various aspects of the Latvian presidency. Juncker noted that, in his experience, small countries tended to be more successful at the EU presidency as they focused on key issues and did not become sidetracked.

The EC president underlined the need for the implementation of his 315-billion-euro (about 375 billion U.S. dollars) investment plan, saying it was an immediate priority and that, instead of subsidies, financial instruments would be used for the first time, an action which is expected to result in bigger economic benefits.

For her part, Straujuma spoke at the news conference about the priorities of the Latvian presidency. She pointed out that this week's terrorist attacks in Paris had brought domestic security issues to the fore.

She also underlined that the implementation of Juncker's investment plan for Europe should be one of key results of the Latvian presidency.

Latvia began its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU on Jan. 1, 2015. A group of European commissioners, under the direction of Juncker, paid a traditional visit to Latvia on Thursday to inaugurate its presidency. Endit