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On 24 February 2026, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artjoms Uršuļskis, attended the meeting of the European Union (EU) General Affairs Council which took place in Brussels. During the meeting, views were exchanged on the draft agenda for the European Council meeting on 19–20 March and an informal discussion was held on the establishment of a European Centre for Democratic Resilience.
During the exchange of views on the preparations for the European Council, the Parliamentary Secretary noted:
“Today marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but we cannot forget that the war began back in 2014. The message remains consistent everywhere: Russia’s violations of international norms will not be tolerated, and our support for Ukraine will continue. The escalation of Russia’s attacks again calls into question its genuine intent to achieve lasting peace, making it vital that we continue collaborating with our allies to establish a lasting and fair peace in Ukraine. At the same time, it is crucial to keep advancing Ukraine’s EU accession – Ukraine has already done its “homework”, and now the EU must fulfil its commitments and begin negotiations with Ukraine on specific matters.”
In the discussion on the establishment of a European Centre for Democratic Resilience, the Parliamentary Secretary emphasised that Latvia expects the centre to address issues such as protecting elections from foreign information manipulation and interference, assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on information integrity, and enhancing public resilience by fostering community-level resilience and enhancing democratic skills and engagement.