On February 25-26, 2026, in Brussels, Belgium, Raimonds Čudars, Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development, will participate in high-level discussions on the security and development of the eastern border regions, the next multiannual budget of the European Union (EU), and strengthening Europe's digital competitiveness, emphasizing Latvia's priorities and interests.
During the visit, the minister is scheduled to meet with European Commission Director-General for Budget Stephanie Riso to discuss the next EU multiannual budget. The talks will highlight the need to pay increased attention to Member States bordering aggressive countries – Russia and Belarus. The challenges facing the eastern border regions are long-term and multidimensional, and cannot be addressed solely through national budgets or the reallocation of existing instruments. Therefore, the security and development of these regions requires coordinated and targeted action at all levels, from national to European.
The development of the eastern border and the EU's new programming period for 2028-2034 will be among the issues that the minister will also discuss with Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economic and Simplification.
During his visit, the minister will also participate in a high-level event of the Eastern Border Pact, which will focus on demographic decline, slowing economic development, and security challenges on Latvia's eastern border. Emphasis will be placed on the need to strengthen measures to retain population and attract investment, as well as to improve the resilience of regions to hybrid threats. Latvia will call for targeted and additional EU financial support for the eastern border regions in the next multiannual budget, emphasizing that this is a strategic investment in the security, resilience, and convergence of the entire European Union.
Meanwhile, the EU General Affairs Council is expected to approve conclusions on the European Urban Agenda, and Latvia will express its support for the document, emphasizing the importance of cities in strengthening growth and competitiveness, as well as the need to link urban initiatives more closely to EU objectives, strengthen the capacity of small and medium-sized cities, and ensure balanced access to investment in the regions. During the visit, the minister will participate in discussions on promoting European digital competitiveness and industrial development, emphasizing the development of secure digital infrastructure, investment mobilization and Latvia's contribution, as well as the "Digital Europe" event, which will highlight broader choices for the public sector in the field of cloud services and the introduction of artificial intelligence solutions on the Latvija.gov.lv portal.