According to President Levits, alleged long-term abuse of state support schemes and infringement upon common good of the society for personal benefit resulting from too lenient rules and lack of sufficient control has significantly undermined public trust and reputation of the industry. It has also had an adverse effect on competitiveness of national economy. ‘Legislature, enforcement authorities and industry players must come together and rebuild the public trust,’ stressed Egils Levits.
President of Latvia also hinted that additional Cabinet of Ministers regulations are needed to ensure efficient enforcement and sufficient detailing of legal requirements. Although Saeima has given Cabinet of Ministers additional time for drafting of these rules, President Levits urges Cabinet of Ministers to fast-track the drafting and adoption procedures because problematic issues had been identified already a while ago. ‘I believe that Cabinet of Ministers is perfectly positioned to produce an efficient and robust legal framework which will facilitate proper implementation and enforcement of the law for the benefit of common interests of the people. We must prevent any attempts to treat the law and Cabinet of Ministers regulations as mere formality. There should be no circumventing of law or abuse of rights provided therein,’ said the President.
Amendments to the Electricity Market Law adopted by the Saeima will come to force on 15 February 2020.