Riga representative in Brussels
Over the course of time, the role of regional and municipalities in European Union administration has increased – the European Commission and other EU administrative institutions not only carry on dialogue with national governments, but also listen to the opinions of regional partners on future political documents and support instruments. Today, more than 300 cities and regions have opened their representative offices in Brussels; in 2004, the city of Riga and Riga District also joined this family. Brussels is currently the second most influential lobbying centre in the world after Washington and has almost 15 000 registered interest groups operating there. Representative offices of cities and districts make up one of the interest groups established in Brussels and operate alongside industry representatives, social groups, and other bodies.
The goal of the Riga representative in Brussels is to promote the international cooperation priorities of Riga by organising operation in three main fields:
Formation if the City Image
• Riga as a professional cooperation partner of EU institutions and European regions
• Riga as a city with experience in priority fields
• Riga as an interesting destination for conferences, large-scale events and tourism
EU Projects and Funds
• Possession of information on available EU financing (EC programmes)
• Cooperation opportunities with other regions, partners for Riga projects
• Informing partners in Brussels of Riga projects and results
• Support in the implementation of international projects
Politics and Representation of Interests
• The most important information about EU legislation and support instruments in Riga priority fields
• Making the Riga opinion of EU policies known to decision-makers
The activity of the city of Riga in Brussels is ensured by the Representative of Riga in the EU Inga Barisa. Her daily duties consists processing information (e-mails, news, networking) and submitting this information to contact persons in the Riga City Council, the Riga Planning Region Administration and other organisations regarding news in different fields of EU policy, opportunities to acquire EU financing or to cooperate with European partners, proposals from Riga to cooperate in projects, etc., the organisation of various events, participation in activities and events of the cooperation networks. One of the most important instruments for activity in Brussels is contacts, which is why a significant part of daily activity is the formation of the cooperation network.
There are also other organisations from Latvia operating in Brussels with which the Riga representative office in the EU works in tight cooperation:
• The representative office of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments in EU (www.lps.lv), which protects the interests of all Latvian municipalities in the process of adopting EU laws;
• The permanent representative office of the Republic of Latvia in the EU (www.mfa.gov.lv/lv/brussels) – represents Latvian national interests in the committees and work groups of the Council of Europe;
• The Latvian Embassy in Belgium and Luxembourg (www.am.gov.lv/lv/belgium), which ensures consular services and strengthens bilateral relations between Latvia and Belgium and Luxembourg.
The Riga City Council representative can be contacted by phone at +371 27862676 or by e-mail at riga.euoffice@riga.lv.
You are also welcome to visit us at Square De Meeus 1, (4th floor) B-1000, Brussels, Belgium.