President Rinkēvičs welcomed the fact that the next year's state budget is based on three main priorities – internal and external security, education and health. It is essential to honour all agreements reached in the past, such as in the area of internal affairs, to move towards financing public order and security at 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026, in particular by providing for a corresponding increase in salaries in the internal affairs sector.
Similarly, science needs a corresponding increase in funding. For example, current funding for science does not enable Latvia to move up the international competitiveness and innovation indexes, where financial investment in research and development is also evaluated. Latvia's performance is critical – it has long been aiming for 1.5% of GDP funding (currently around 0.7%). The European average for science is now 2.2% of GDP and mostly targets 3%.
The parties also discussed the situation with Latvia's commercial banking and financial sector. President Rinkēvičs drew attention to the protracted discussion on a potential solution to reduce mortgage interest payments for Latvian households. Without a concrete solution, it does not help the daily lives of those who are already struggling to make their mortgage payments.
