2024-04-13 17:37:56
Therefore, the Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere (JV) will not fulfill the duties of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Siliņa was supposed to participate in the working dinner of European Union (EU) heads of state and government, organized by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, where the directions of future EU Strategic Programs and priority policies are discussed.
LETA already announced that on April 12 and 13, the Minister of Justice Lībiņa-Egnere was appointed acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs by order of Silina.
This decision regarding the replacement of members of the government was made because Silina planned to visit Austria.
As of today, Siliņa also temporarily fulfills the duties of Minister of Foreign Affairs, as former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (JV) resigned from the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in connection with the scandal of private flights during the Prime Minister’s tenure.
For several months now, the scandal regarding the private flights used by the delegations led by Kariņš during his premiership has been relevant in the public space, which has drawn criticism from a part of society. From 2021 to September 2023, according to the information gathered by the State Chancellery, 613,830 euros were spent on private flights for the business trips of Kariņas and his employees, but together with the part of the costs covered by the European Union, the expenses reach 1.36 million euros.
The State Audit Office, on the other hand, has established in the audit that illegal and uneconomical behavior, organizing Kariņš’s special flights, caused a total of around 545,000 euros of unjustified expenses for the budgets of Latvia and the Council of the European Union (EU).
The State Audit Office believes that by using special flights even in cases when the state of emergency was not declared and when alternatives to regular commercial flights were available in a reasonable time, illegal behavior with state budget funds was allowed, which resulted in additional state budget expenses of at least 221,566 euros. On the other hand, according to the estimates of the State Audit Office, the allowed non-economic behavior caused additional expenses of at least 323,688 euros for the Council of the EU.
In parallel with the audit of the State Audit Office, the inspection took place at the General Prosecutor’s Office, and as a result, a criminal proceeding was initiated, which was handed over to the Bureau of Prevention and Combating Corruption for investigation.
The service’s examination of the legality of the use of Kariņa’s contract voyages has also been initiated in the State Chancellery. Silina suspended the director of the State Chancellery, Jāni Citskovski, for a probationary period.
2024-04-13 17:37:56