Is Latvia ready for e-signatures?

Arnis Gross | 

With phishing, pharming and other identity-related scams on the increase, it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell who actually sent the e-mail sitting in your inbox, whether the associated MIcrosoft Word attachment can be trusted and whether the Web link provided to resubmit your personal details actually belongs to that authority. The e-signature smart card launched by Latvia Post on Oct. 4 proposes to address some of these problems by providing a secure method for the exchange of documents and other information electronically.

No more running around the various institutions and government departments, notarising countless documents, trying to find out when and where to go and spending unproductive hours in queues—the e-signature will introduce a whole new way of working for both the individual dealing with government services and for businesses interacting with both the government and their counterparts. The impact will be huge, requiring a radical change of thinking and an entirely different mode of operation especially in Latvia’s public sector. With the e-signature service and time stamping features you will theoretically be able to track electronically how your submitted document is traversing through the various departments during the approval process.

But what is the reality today? The Rīga Municipal Council is on board, but is yet to provide any compelling applications requiring the exclusive use of the e-signature. This is expected to improve with further development of the technical infrastructure. Up until now the State Revenue Department offered its own electronic service that required that you sign a special contract, but with the new e-signature you will soon be able to submit 90 percent of the required declarations and tax reports. Parex Bank claims it will take new American Express credit card applications via the e-signature service, but Hansabank is still looking for the killer application that will include the e-signature into its next essential banking service. Although the e-signature service complies with international standards, no agreements have yet been signed outside the borders of Latvia.

To apply for your e-signature you will need to go to one of the nominated branches of Latvia Post, present your passport, complete an application form and come back two weeks later to pick up your e-signature smart card. For individuals the cost is LVL 24 for two years and an additional 35 santīms for each transaction. For small- and medium-sized businesses the cost is LVL 47, which includes a smart card USB reader and the first 100 transactions free of charge. Thereafter the cost is 25 santīms per transaction. If you are a heavy user, then choose the unlimited plan for LVL 90. Surprisingly, Latvia Post still does not accept credit cards as payment, but this facility has been promised to be introduced by the end of the year. The prices may at first seem rather steep, but as businesses begin to realise the cost and time benefits achieved it will become an essential part of their daily operations.

You can view a video clip of how to use the e-signature service at E-me.lv, the post office’s official site for the project. Even though the promotional brochures and video clip features Macintosh computers, Macintosh users will not be able to use this service until Latvia Post has produced a version for the platform. Linux users have also been left out. I would have liked to have seen a much simpler interface even for the current Windows version. Right-click with your mouse on the document or file, choose “Add signature” or “Add signature and e-mail” from the submenu and everything should just happen in the background. No doubt when third-party programmers get access to the software libraries we should see further improvements in usability.

For Latvian citizens living outside of Latvia the e-signature service will be a welcome step forward as more government services become available on the Internet and offer a new, convenient way to participate in the 10th Saeima elections in 2010.

A trip to the Naukšēnu disko is worth it

Egils Kaljo | 

For those whose Latvian geography doesn’t go beyond the very basics, Naukšēni is a small town not far from Valmiera in the north of Latvia in Vidzeme. So why did Labvēlīgais Tips title its latest album Naukšēnu disko?

Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I know about Naukšēni is that they make flaxseed oil there. Perhaps it is simply to say that there are people who like to have a good time in every Latvian town, no matter how large or how small. Labvēlīgais tips perform songs about the most varied kinds of topics, searching for humor in the most unlikely places. The group’s style is also hard to categorize, showing many different kinds of musical influences in its songs.

The group released albums on a yearly basis at the start of its career—beginning in 1995 with Alūminija cūka—but has slowed down in recent years. About two and a half years have passed since the group released its last album, Mūzika iereibušiem cilvēkiem. This allows the group to spend more time on crafting an album, and this shows on Naukšēnu disko. I believe this to be one of the group’s best albums, containing many new hits for the group.

Naukšēnu disko was only released April 1, but many of the songs on the album were already recorded and played on the radio and in concerts. Perhaps one of the biggest hits is “Pīrādziņ’ nāc ārā!,” which could be heard just about everywhere in the summer of 2005. Kids on the tram would be singing the chorus, “Pīrādziņ’ nāc āra, bumbu spēlēt, kvasu padzerties!” Though there are multiple interpretations of the meaning of the song (and looking too deeply into any Labvēlīgais Tips song is probably a waste of time), pīrādziņ’ in this case refers to a person, perhaps a bit pudgy, who is being exhorted by his friends to get out of the house and away from an overbearing mother (first verse) and an overbearing wife (second verse). The song also begins with a death metal like chord progression and screaming, but then segues into a more traditional Labvēlīgais Tips sound.

Another hit prior to the release of the record is “Mazās kalnu ielas samurajs,” a song about a samurai who lives on Mazā kalnu street in Rīga. What a samurai is doing in Rīga is not made clear, and what the samurai is doing in one of the more depressed areas of Rīga is also unclear, but again, don’t look too deeply into the group’s lyrics, because it would spoil the fun. This song, unsurprisingly considering its subject matter, features a Japanese sound to it.

There is also “Laptops,” an ode to people who see a laptop as merely a fashion accessory, as well as those who carry around a laptop everywhere they go in the thought that it makes them look important.

In a very unusual departure for the group, it also has a pseudo-opera song called “Trio no operas ‘Cosi vandas tante’” in which three of the groups members (Normunds Jakušonoks, Andris Ābelīte and Kaspars Tīmanis), collectively know as the “Trīs bemoli” (Three Flats), sing an “opera’ trio bemoaning the difficulties in life when one has a dark-haired bride. Though the guys are clearing hamming it up, they are still excellent singers. If a listener didn’t understand Latvian, they wouldn’t realize that this is supposed to be in jest!

Chock full of new hits, Naukšēnu disko is a triumphant addition to the Labvēligais Tips catalogue. Even in the second decade, the group hasn’t lost its step yet. A more refined sound and craftmanship, not to mention great songs, ensure that this compact will often return to my CD player. A trip to the Naukšēnu disko will be a memorable one.

Details

Naukšēnu disko

Labvēlīgais Tips

MICREC,  2006

MRCD 310

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area . Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.

Kalvītis destined for second term as PM

Andris Straumanis | 

Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis seems assured of a second term after a Nov. 1 meeting with Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, during which they discussed current issues and the Oct. 7 parliamentary election results.

The president will officially nominate Kalvītis as the next prime minister when the 9th Saeima meets for the first time Nov. 7, the president’s press office in Rīga announced.

A coalition of conservative parties—Tautas partija (People’s Party), Zaļo un Zemnieku Savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers), and the new alliance between Latvijas Pirmā partija (First Party of Latvia) and Latvijas Ceļš (Latvia’s Way)—will control 51 of the 100 seats in parliament, according to results of the Oct. 7 election.

“After my consultations with all the parties it is clear that, with these election results, for me as president the choice of Mr. Kalvītis as the new prime minister is completely logical, legal and just about inescapable,” Vīķe-Freiberga said in a prepared statement.

Kalvītis is a member of Tautas partija. He became prime minister in December 2004 and his current term expires with the close of the 8th Saeima.

Still unclear is whether and how the coalition might be enlarged.

Jaunais laiks (New Era), the conservative party that has seen its popularity plummet in recent months, will control another 18 seats in the new parliament and has been in talks with the other parties about rejoining the ruling coalition it abandoned in April. If it were to join, the coalition’s majority in the parliament would increase to 69 seats.

Jaunais laiks also would like to see its candidate, former Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete, become the next president when Vīķe-Freiberga’s second term expires next year.

Also represented in the 9th Saeima are Saskaņas Centrs (Harmony Centre), which will control 17 seats, and Par cilvēka tiesībam vienotā Latvijā (For Human Rights in United Latvia), which will have six. Both are viewed as left-leaning and friendly to Moscow.

The conservative Tēvzemei un Brīvībai / LNNK (For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK) will control eight seats and also has been mentioned as a potential partner in a conservative ruling coalition.

Kalvītis’ nomination will have to be approved by the Saeima.

Aigars Kalvītis

Aigars Kalvītis will be nominated by the president to return as Latvia’s prime minister.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.