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On 1 and 2 September 2025, in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ingrīda Levrence, took part in the informal meeting of the European Union (EU) ministers for European affairs.
The agenda of the meeting included topics concerning the importance of the Copenhagen criteria in the EU enlargement process, strengthening the rule of law in the EU, and the necessary reforms in preparation for the accession of new Member States. Representatives from the EU candidate countries also participated in the discussion about the importance of the Copenhagen criteria.
Latvia noted the high relevance of the Copenhagen criteria in the process of political and economic reforms, which provide new opportunities for citizens and companies in both EU Member States and candidate countries. As regards the issue of strengthening the rule of law, Ingrīda Levrence emphasized that the priority is an effective use of the existing instruments for its protection, rather than the creation of new ones. In a discussion on internal EU reforms in the context of enlargement, Latvia advocated for simultaneously pursuing reform and enlargement. It is essential that the result of both processes be an economically and socially more united EU.