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On 26 January 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. The meeting provided an opportunity for the first exchange of views about the European Democracy Shield initiative published by the European Commission on 12 November 2025. The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU presented its proposed priority areas and the European Commission shared information on the rule of law situation in four EU Member States: Estonia, Denmark, Greece, and Spain.
During the exchange of views on the European Democracy Shield, the Parliamentary Secretary highlighted the importance of a united and coordinated EU approach to bolstering democracy, countering disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference, and protecting the integrity of elections. Latvia welcomes the proposal to establish the European Centre for Democratic Resilience and stresses the need for clearly defined, transparent, and predictable funding to ensure the effective implementation of all activities foreseen under the European Democracy Shield.
During the meeting, Cyprus presented its priorities while holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Cyprus Presidency has put forward five priority areas: security and defence; EU competitiveness; the EU’s global role; the rule of law; social and healthcare policy; and the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework. At the meeting, the Parliamentary Secretary voiced support for the Cyprus Presidency’s goal to strengthen EU cohesion and autonomy, and highlighted the Presidency’s priorities important to Latvia: further comprehensive support for Ukraine, reinforcement of EU security and defence, and the continuation of negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework.
The General Affairs Council also engaged in a discussion on the rule of law situation in Estonia, Denmark, Greece, and Spain. Latvia considers that the exchange of views and best practices through discussions as part of the rule of law dialogue constitutes a valuable approach to strengthening the rule of law across the EU. Alongside this, all Member States and EU institutions share the task of strengthening EU values.