On 16 January, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Government Action Plan for the implementation of the Declaration on the Actions to be taken by the Cabinet of Ministers chaired by Evika Siliņa. The Government Action Plan also approves a number of priorities set by the interior affairs sector and Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis - strengthening the capacity of security institutions, personnel issues - faster pay rises for those working in the interior affairs sector, bringing them in line with the National Armed Forces (NAF); improvement of material and technical support; construction of the eastern border, including equipping it with smart technologies.
The Government Action Plan has been developed jointly with partners.
The Government Action Plan provides for the development and implementation of a new remuneration system for the internal affairs services and the Prison Administration, in order to ensure competitive remuneration and social security opportunities. It will also contribute to the alignment of remuneration and social guarantees for officials in the internal affairs sector with those of soldiers in the NAF.
The increase in the remuneration of officials with special ranks in the home affairs sector, which started in 2023, is already being continued in 2024. In 2024 and the following years, the budget allocates almost 24 million euros annually for this purpose. In addition, the budget for the coming year will provide 36,7 million euros for the allowance for officials for every five years of continuous service.
In addition, the Government Action Plan also foresees increasing access to healthcare services for officials with special ranks in the interior affairs sector and the Prison Administration by the end of 2026.
It plans to improve the civil protection system by clearly defining the competences and responsibilities of the institutions involved in the coordination, management and execution of disaster management measures, digitizing the civil protection and fire safety monitoring process, improving the early warning system, and strengthening the self-organization and resilience mechanisms of society.
The Government Action Plan also provides for strengthening the capacity of teachers in the colleges of internal affairs and ensuring competitive and commensurate remuneration for teachers, including those with special service ranks, as well as ensuring the functioning of the consortium “Internal Security Academy” and the development of study programmes and infrastructure.
The plan also provides for the continuation of the construction of the Latvian – Russian border strip in accordance with the decisions adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers, while the Latvian – Belarusian section, where fence construction works were completed at the end of 2023, is to be equipped with the latest technologies.
By the end of 2025, it is planned to improve checks at the external borders of the EU, to enable more effective detection of security threats and cases of identity fraud, and to prevent and combat illegal immigration.
Prepared by:
Ministry of the Interior
Communication Department