On Tuesday, July 13, the Eurogroup meeting and the European Union (EU) Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approved the Council's implementation decision on the Latvian Recovery Fund (RF) plan, which means that the Ministry of the Interior can start work on implementing the submitted projects.
Under the Recovery and Sustainability Mechanism, the Ministry of the Interior has submitted projects in three areas of reform investment: climate change and environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and the rule of law. The total amount reaches 45.2 million euros. All the submitted projects are related to the improvement of the working conditions of the services and the improvement of the security of the common state.
"The investments of the Recovery Fund are an important step towards ensuring that both Europe and Latvia experience an economic recovery after the Covid-19 crisis. European support is a symbol of solidarity with a view to the future. The investment of EUR 45.2 million in the home affairs sector is a tool that will enable us to strengthen the work of our services and to promote environmentally friendly change that strengthens the digital transformation. These projects will strengthen the security of our country and strengthen the ability of services to respond to today's challenges. This funding is particularly important for strengthening the capacity of the State Fire and Rescue Service, setting up modern safety monitoring platforms and an innovation center. Many thanks to those who worked on the development of this plan and projects to strengthen the home affairs sector, ”said Minister for the Interior Marija Golubeva.
In the field of climate change and environmental sustainability, the Ministry of the Interior requested EUR 36.6 million to strengthen the capacity of rescue services, particularly for improving the infrastructure and logistical base of the State Fire and Rescue Service.
In the field of digital transformation or ICT, for the establishment of a unified fire safety monitoring and civil protection platform, the ministry requested 2.2 million euros; The Ministry requested EUR 2 million for the implementation of the Smart City security monitoring platform in Latvia, while EUR 1.84 million was requested for the equipment of police officers (E-cases and Smart city to provide the necessary terminal equipment to fully achieve the project objectives).
In the area of the rule of law, the Ministry requested € 1.47 million for the establishment of the AML (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Internal Control System) Innovation Center, which will significantly improve the identification of money laundering. million euros.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility is a new budget program managed centrally by the European Commission, in addition to the EU's multi-annual budget for the 2021-2027 programming period. It aims to support reforms and investments related to the transition to a green and digital economy, as well as to reduce the social and economic impact of the crisis. The amount of the Latvian Recovery Fund plan is 1, 826 billion euros.
Ministry of the Interior
Communication department