After graduating from the Riga Polytechnic Institute, Juris Savickis entered graduate school and became a teacher at the Department of Metal Resistance.

As protests against financial power sweep the world, science may have confirmed the protesters’ worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.

Pavol Baranay, Head of the Commercial and Economic Section, 2007- 2010 President of Diplomatic economic club
The issues on the history and the modern impression of economic diplomacy, its significance in countries activities, the practical objectives and goals of diplomatic representatives are covered in this article by summarizing examples and experience

Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Finances Edgar Putra thinks that the bank or the financial services industry Latvian should evolve in quality, rather than quantity direction, so that Latvia, like Switzerland, after some time be able to say that our banks work as precisely as a Swiss clock.

Plans to expand a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will strengthen the EU Energy Union, Nord Stream 2 consortium spokesperson Ulrich Lissek told New Europe.

The idea of the European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. Specific rules and procedures were set out in a Regulation implemented by the member states since 2012. In this way the EU forces democracy principles into the Union’s decision-making.

The future’s economic development will be based on a reduced-to-minimum distance between the supply-demand sides of the production chain. Another change is a shift from economic ownership categories to a „user-ship“ one. Business in the Baltics has to see the future trends and accommodate to changes

Diversity of participants gathering at the European energy union conference organised within Latvian Presidency in the Council of Ministers in Riga (6 February 2015) have shown great interest in the new European energy policy. Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Energy Union and Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy expressed the views of European Commission.

The European Central Bank announced recently a large program of quantitative easing (QE), involving a purchase of over €1 trillion of assets (mainly government bonds) in the euro-zone countries. It’s a huge change from a conservative ECB’s position in monetary policy with possible strong effect for economy and business in the three Baltic States.

A new version of the EU Transparency Register is being launched at the end of January 2015, following joint work by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It is the so-called „second generation“ of the Register and it implements the provisions of the revised inter-institutional agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission signed in April 2014.

In view of expected investments from countries outside the EU, the Capital Requirements Regulation No 575/2013 sets out certain rules to entities in third countries, which financial institutions can benefit from more favorable treatment. The rules through the Implementing Act will enter into force on 1 January 2015; thus, 3rd countries’ investments will be equivalent to rules applied in the EU.

EU Annual Growth Survey, AGS launches the annual cycle of economic governance for 2015 and sets out general economic priorities for the EU and the member states. The economic policy guidance for 2015 is based on three main pillars: boosting investments, activating structural reforms and deliver on fiscal responsibility. These ideas are a good hint for Latvian Council Presidency, which aimed at stimulating growth.