On 17 February 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a meeting of consular officers serving at the diplomatic missions of the European Union Member States accredited to Latvia. The meeting was arranged by the Embassy of France, the country currently holding the presidency of the Council of the EU.
During the event the participants heard a presentation on the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. An exchange of views was also held on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on resolving of consular matters. The meeting was opened by the Ambassador of France to Latvia, Aurélie Royet-Gounin, and the Head of the Consular and Diplomatic Facilities Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jurijs Pogrebņaks.
In her opening remarks, the French Ambassador underlined that several priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU were directly related to consular work: reform of the Schengen Area; migration and asylum issues; strengthening of the EU’s borders; and equally essential, the human dimension and focus on European values and the protection of the rule of law.
It is important that this discussion for the consuls of the EU Member State consuls is arranged in Riga in order to share their experience and efforts made during this extraordinary time of the global pandemic to preserve the right to free movement for citizens, which is one of the EU’s key achievements, the French Ambassador said.
The Head of the Consular and Diplomatic Facilities Directorate, Jurijs Pogrebņaks, informed the consular officers about the consular workload during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in 2020, when the Consular Department received 49 375 calls to its emergency phone number (in 2021 – about 16 000) and 15 120 e-mail messages (in 2021– about 12 000). In addition, 43 repatriation flights by the airBaltic airlines were organised in 2020. The Head of Directorate also spoke about the functioning of the digital COVID-19 certificate and travel restrictions in Latvia.
He also informed the participants about the efficiency and broad accessibility of Latvia’s e-services, which facilitates consular work. The most popular e-services among Latvian nationals in foreign countries are communication with the State Revenues Service, requesting information from public authorities, declaring one’s place of residence, and online notarial services.
The discussion took place in a professional and positive atmosphere. Appreciation was expressed to colleagues from both the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French Embassy for arranging the event, at which the officials could share valuable knowledge, experience and advice on consular work under the conditions of the global pandemic.