A detailed, 14-page letter from the Ministry of Interior is among documents submitted by Sept. 1 suggesting improvements to proposed amendments to Latvia’s Citizenship Law. (Illustration by Latvians Online)
A proposal to renew dual citizenship in Latvia is among legislation that may fall by the wayside as the 10th Saeima wraps up its work in the wake of the Sept. 17 special parliamentary election.
Even though a special subcommittee was established to review the legislation, and even though several suggestions for improvement were received by the Sept. 1 deadline, the bill appears to stand little chance of making it to a final reading.
In that case, supporters of amending the Citizenship Law—including renewing the possibility for World War II exile Latvians and their descendants to claim dual citizenship—may have to wait for new proposals in the just-elected 11th Saeima.
MP Ilma Čepāne, a member of the Unity (Vienotība) party and chairperson of the Saeima’s Legal Affairs Committee, told Latvians Online in an email that former President Valdis Zatlers’ initiative to dismiss the 10th Saeima and the special election that followed make passage of amendments to the Citizenship Law unlikely.
“Unfortunately because of V. Zatlers’ Order No. 2 and the special Saeima elections, as well as the fact that the agenda for Saeima meetings is set by the president, I very much doubt the possibility that the bill could be accepted on its final, third, reading,” Čepāne said.
Until the 11th Saeima takes office, new President Andris Bērziņš is calling special meetings of the 10th Saeima. He has said that only items on which broad agreement has been reached will be put on the agenda.
The next special meeting of the 10th Saeima is Sept. 22. Amendments to the Citizenship Law are not on the agenda.
In April, the Saeima gave its support on first reading to bill No. 238/Lp10, one of three proposals that reached parliament in the spring. The Saeima also set up a subcommittee of the Legal Affairs Committee to review the legislation and set a Sept. 1 deadline for changes to be proposed.
The subcommittee received several proposed changes, including a detailed, 14-page single-spaced response from the Ministry of the Interior, which included a number of technical corrections.
According to the Saeima website, the last scheduled meeting of the subcommittee was June 1.
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I missed a lot, Latvians in other countries now can vote?? Since when and how????
What are they waiting for? By the time they decide weather or not to give the World War two ex-pats there rightful citizenship back they will be all dead. This has been going on for years this debate of duel citizenship. Most Modern Western Country’s already recognize duel citizenship. Talk about procrastination.
I am really sad to hear of the postponment, for my family anyway. Dad and mom passed away many years ago, one brother also and there are only two of us left now who were born in Latvia before or during WWII. But I do know my Latvian roots and I guess that will be enough.
I totally agree with the comment Robbie made “What are they waiting for? By the time they decide weather or not to give the World War two ex-pats there rightful citizenship back they will be all dead. This has been going on for years this debate of duel citizenship. Most Modern Western Country’s already recognize duel citizenship. Talk about procrastination.” How much more can one debate this issue, pass this amendment and move on.
I agree with Robbie.. Im wondering why the reluctance for dual citizenship as well. My grandparents fled Latvia during the war and I would like to honour them by being dual, but Im not sure if that will even happen in my lifetime.
I am surprised at how out of touch, judging by these comments, most Latvians abroad are with issues that directly affect them. From Robbie on down, all apparently unaware that Latvian expatiates and their descendants WERE eligible to have their citizenship restored for several years after independence was, defacto, restored (off the top of my head, I do not recall the cut off date). Who has been left out in the cold are Latvian youth born after the cut off date to parents of Latvian heritage and who qualified under the above. For example, I have quite a few friends who, under the provision, renewed their citizenship, while retaining their Canadian or U.S. citizenship. They enjoy dual (Latvian/whatever) citizenship, but their children would need to revoke their “western” citizenship to apply for Latvian citizenship. The proposed amendment is addressed at allowing them to also be eligible for dual citizenship, a complicated issue, since children of Latvian born citizens may NOT have dual citizenship, creating two classes of citizens. While I agree this is an issue that is taking far too long to resolve, nevertheless, this group is hardly in danger of dying out. @ Daina, if you renewed your Latvian citizenship prior to the cut off date, you as a citizen would have been able to vote all along. If you have not bothered to determine this, I can only assume that this is not important enough of an issue for you, and that anyone so out fo touch with what is happening in “their” country would perhaps not be well qualified to make responsible choices, had you known.