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The 4th meeting of the EU-Latvia Association Committee took place in Riga on 13 June 2001. This Committee was set up under the EU-Latvia Europe Agreement, which entered into force in 1998, and comprises representatives from the European Commission, the EU Member States and the Latvian Government. Its purpose is to review all aspects of EU-Latvia relations and to prepare for the ministerial level Association Council, which also meets once a year. The Delegations were headed respectively by Mr Camós Grau, Head of Unit of the Latvia Team in the European Commission, and Mr Andris Íesteris, Under-secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.

The meeting focused on Latvia's preparation for accession and specifically on the implementation of Latvia's Accession Partnership, which sets out priorities for these preparations. The EU side welcomed substantial progress made by Latvia in preparations for accession.

The discussions covered a wide range of issues. Concerning the integration of non-citizens into Latvia's society, the EU side welcomed the recent decision of the Latvian government to further facilitate the naturalisation procedures. It also considered the adoption of the long version of Latvia's National Programme ?The Integration of Society? an important step. The EU delegation looked forward to the adoption of the Law ?On the Society Integration Foundation?.

Discussions also covered Public Administration Reform, and bilateral trade developments. The EU side noted with satisfaction the important steps recently taken by Latvia to align with EC legislation in many areas, including environment, fisheries, veterinary and phytosanitary, as well as technical regulations and standards. The EU delegation took note that further key legislation in the areas of public procurement, competition, telecommunications, and labour law was expected to be adopted soon. Significant progress has been achieved recently in area of justice and home affairs by the adoption of State Border Guard Development Programme and amendments of the legislation providing for the establishment of an integrated border control system.

The continued need to strengthen Latvia's administration with a view to preparing it for EU membership was discussed in detail. The Delegations noted particular improvements in the customs administration and also examined recent developments in areas such as intellectual property rights, data protection, consumer protection, common market organisations, environment, statistics, and economic and social cohesion. In this context, the EU delegation also welcomed recent legislative developments related to general Public Administration Reform, including the adoption of the Law on Agencies, and underlined the need to maintain the momentum.

The Delegations reviewed the progress of economic reforms in Latvia, and the EU Delegation welcomed the successful macroeconomic developments as well as efforts to improve the business environment and access to finance. Both Delegations noted further deepening of bilateral co-operation and trade relations. The Delegations welcomed the finalisation of the trade liberalisation negotiations on processed agricultural goods and on fish and fishery products at technical level, as well as the advancement of negotiations on sectoral annexes to the Protocol on European Conformity Assessment (PECA). Both Delegations recognised the need to continue working together within the framework of the Europe Agreement.

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