Question of citizenship” “” “

European citizens have so many problems and so many hopes. On 1st May the Union extended its frontiers eastwards, growing from 15 to 25 members. They include Latvia, a Baltic State that once formed part of the Soviet Union. How is the relation with Brussels being experienced at these latitudes? What are the primary needs of the nation, also in relation to the EU institutions? Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent in Brussels, put these questions to JEGORS JEROHOMOVICS , EU correspondent of “Business and the Baltics”, the main Russian language business daily in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Having entered the Union just a few months ago, do Latvians already feel themselves “European citizens”? “Yes, some Latvians really do feel themselves European citizens, but they aren’t very numerous. They are mainly people already familiar with the EU, especially the young; they feel they have greater chances for study and work abroad, for international experiences, for travel and learning new things. For them the Union represents a new opportunity. But I think the overall knowledge of the Union in our country is poor and many people, especially those who live far from the capital Riga, don’t even have the basic notions of the Community. Moreover, in Latvia there’s the problem of the large number of ‘non-citizens’, individuals especially of Russian origin, unprotected minorities. Out of a population of 2.3 million, they number 481,000: so long as they are not fully Latvian citizens, they cannot be citizens of the EU”. What is the economic and social situation? Does Latvia need EU aid for its own domestic development? “Various problems need to be tackled. The most serious of them is linked to economic growth. The first consequence of the rapid transformation of the national economy from heavy industry to the services sector is the high level of unemployment. The productivity of the workforce is very low and per-caput income is one of the lowest among the new accession countries: roughly a third of the EU average. Wages and pensions in Latvia are not keeping pace with prices. Numerous regional disparities are also being registered within the country. So Latvia hopes to obtain greater funds from the EU both for economic and for social development. There’s also a widespread conviction that local agriculture has suffered a great deal, i.e. was disadvantaged by entry into the Union. Peasant farmers are dissatisfied with the negotiations – discriminatory in their view – between the national government and Brussels. It’s difficult for them to achieve growth in the sector, since they must respect the standards of quality and development imposed by the EU. Small and medium businesses are similarly worried that they will be unable to compete with those of other countries. To conclude, I would cite unemployment and the demographic question: the mortality rate is high while the birthrate remains very low”. What does Latvia hope from the EU in terms of democracy, peace and human rights? “In Latvia people hope that democracy may be reinforced following the country’s entry into the EU. The same goes for the safeguard of peace, bearing in mind that the country has also joined NATO. The defence of human rights is a further important sector. For the Latvian citizens of non-Latvian origin (as for ‘non-citizens’) membership of the Union may signify protection of their own interests, including their social rights, at the higher level of the Community institutions. In Latvia, however, the rights of the minorities (900,000 persons out of a total population, of whom 670,000 of Russian origin) show that the EU has not sufficiently protected these interests and has not given support to the campaign organized by the union of political organizations ‘For human rights in a united Latvia’. According to this reform, due to come into force on 1st September, in the schools in which significant minorities are present, 60% of teaching should be given in the Latvian language, and 40% in the languages of the minorities in question. But the schools are not prepared for this reform; they lack trained teachers to teach the curriculum in the various languages. For these reasons, a group of representatives of the world of education in Latvia demonstrated at the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week”.