2024-04-12 08:18:41
As Patmalnieks tells LETA agency, all business trips on which Kariņš went were to defend Latvia’s interests.
The use of special flights for the needs of government leaders is a common practice in Europe and the world. Most prime ministers of European countries use them. Not only in Germany or Great Britain, but also in Lithuania, Poland, the Nordic countries and elsewhere. This practice exists in many places so that the head of the government can fully fulfill his duties in both domestic and foreign policy, the politician emphasizes.
According to Patmalnieks, the State Chancellery organized the business trips with the belief that they were carried out in accordance with the existing regulations – therefore legally, and this was also the belief of the politician. It was based on the State Chancellery’s analysis of regulatory enactments and the fact that this type of special flights have been used by both former presidents and prime ministers for several decades, notes Patmalnieks.
Based on both practice and regulatory interpretation, there was an opinion that it is possible to legally use special flights, emphasizes Patmalnieks, emphasizing that during the pandemic, when the availability of commercial flights decreased, the practice of using special flights regularly began.
Patmalnieks believes that the first mistake was that the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers, which regulate official business trips, were not amended. “It should have been clearly defined that special flights are permissible – without the possibility of interpretation,” says the former head of Kariņa’s office.
The politician emphasizes that there was no pressure from political officials on the State Chancellery to make purchases, conclude contracts or pay bills for special flights. If an opinion was given that the practice is not in accordance with the existing regulations, then a discussion on amendments to the relevant regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers would be initiated, claims Patmalnieks.
“Special flights were considered in those cases when, according to the analysis, commercial flights did not fit into the schedule of the visit or were not available. The findings of the State Audit Office that there were alternatives to special flights are a consequence of the fact that the State Chancellery did not have an internal procedure for recording decision-making process in connection with the organization of business trips. The absence of clear internal procedures is the second mistake, which the State Audit Office rightly points out,” says the politician.
Patmalnieks believes that political responsibility should be separated from responsibility for the use of financial resources. According to the politician, the office prepared options and the Prime Minister made a choice according to his vision of priorities and work schedule. After that, the matter was referred to the State Chancellery for decision regarding the conclusion of the contract and later also the payment of invoices.
“The Prime Minister and his office have always acted in accordance with the highest standards and have not been involved in making decisions related to the use of financial resources. Political officials in the state administration cannot buy stationery for themselves, or even subscribe to a newspaper – the financial department of the institution always handles economic funds and the head of the institution. Any attempt by politicians to get involved in the use of financial resources is reprehensible,” Patmalnieks explains.
The former head of Kariņa’s office claims that the Prime Minister’s Office organizes business trips, while the State Chancellery controls the rule of law, plans the budget and pays bills.
According to Patmalnieks, in the future, clear public criteria for the use of such special flights must be established, so that the public can gain confidence that the goals of the Prime Minister’s activities are achieved with the most efficient use of public funds. Our neighboring countries have gone through this discussion and resolved it, and Latvia is also capable of it, a confident politician.
2024-04-12 08:18:41