Sveiki, all!

Our house-fixing duties continue to take precedence while the weather is still cooperating. On top of that, some networking problems disabled our internet access for a while... Our apologies once again for our somewhat irregular schedule! As always, we're interested in hearing from you in terms of feedback and suggestions!

As the subject indicates, this was the mailer for October 30th -- a current one will follow shortly!

In the news,

• EU president Belgium tones down enlargement plan, backpedals from earlier unbridledly optimistic schedule
• ANALYSIS-Eastern Europeans welcome signs EU ready to open doors, reacting to optimistic pronouncements
• Ageing Nazi war crimes suspect in Australian court, Kalejs strapped to stretcher to keep from falling out; the saga continues
• DIARY - World Time Changes to October 2001 [excerpted]; Latvia goes back to standard time as well (GMT + 2:00)
• INTERVIEW-Latvia says close to fisheries deal with EU; Latvia seeking to preserve strict preservation of fishing rights
• Tiimari opens store in Latvia; at least the Finns think Latvians have money to spend (on stationery, paper products, gifts,...); Tiimari continues to expand in the Baltics after buying the Foorum retail chain in Estonia in June.
• Gloomy Czechs accept EU curb on workers' movement; Germany and Austria in particular are afraid of the influx of cheap labor; Scandanavians will not impose any curb (although one suspects the number of, say, Czechs, fluent in Swedish is somewhat low)
• Itar-Tass Russia and CIS news digest of October 28 [excerpted] -- Byelorussians commemorate victims of Stalin's terror on International Day of Memory for Victims of Political Repression

This week's link is to buckets and buckets of information about Latvia!

This week's picture, attached, is of a guitarist at the "corner" of Aldaru iela and Troksnu iela in Vecriga. If the arch looks familiar, that's because it's the "other side" of the Swedish gate.

As always, AOL'ers, Remember, mailer or not, Lat Chat spontaneously appears every Sunday on AOL starting around 9:00/9:30pm Eastern time, lasting until 11:00/11:30pm. AOL'ers can follow this link: Town Square - Latvian chat. And thanks to you participating on the Latvian message board as well: LATVIA (both on AOL only).

Ar visu labu,

A treasure trove of information about Latvia to be found at the Latvian Institute:

    http://www.latinst.lv/

We featured their page on Latvian culture almost two years ago -- if you haven't seen the site lately, it's well worth another visit!

Reuters World Report Saturday, 2001. October 20. 12:26:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.

    BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) -- EU president Belgium appeared on Saturday to row back from its surprise suggestion that the European Union might name in December the first group of east European candidates likely to join the bloc in 2004.
    Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the EU would not draw up a list of countries but would simply review the progress made and the problems still to be resolved by each of the 12 negotiating countries before they can join.
    "There will be no lists, no rankings," Michel told a news conference.
    "We are simply speaking of a deeper interpretation, appraisal and analysis of the progress reports drawn up by the European Commission," he said. The Commission publishes its next annual reports on the candidates on November 13.
    On Friday night, after a one-day summit of EU leaders, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt surprised reporters by saying they could be ready at their next gathering in December to name specific candidates for the first wave of enlargement.
    Michel said the planned review would give the candidates a clearer idea of their chances of completing their negotiations by the end of 2002, the date by which the EU has pledged to be ready to admit new members.
    Naming candidates is a sensitive issue, not least because it risks encouraging the favoured countries to start taking membership for granted while discouraging those not on the list.
    It also undermines the Commission's twin principles that each candidate must be judged strictly on its own merits and that membership cannot be guaranteed to any country until all the complex negotiations have been concluded.
    ENCOURAGEMENT FOR CANDIDATE MEMBERS
    Michel said the aim of reviewing the state of play in December was to "encourage and motivate" all the candidates" to press ahead with their negotiations at a tense and difficult time in international politics.
    "After September 11, the situation is different," he said, referring to the attacks on the United States.
    "We are saying not only that enlargement is irreversible but that it must take place as swiftly as possible," said Michel.
    The European Commission's top enlargement official, Guenter Verheugen, echoed this comment.
    "Enlargement will contribute strongly to the creation of stability and security in Europe -- the best prevention against tensions, violence and conflicts," he said.
    Michel and Verheugen were speaking to reporters after taking part in a conference on fighting terrorism attended by the foreign ministers of most candidate countries and also by officials of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.
    The 12 countries negotiating for EU membership are Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Malta, Latvia and Lithuania. Turkey is also a candidate but has not yet started negotiations.

Reuters North America Monday, 2001. October 22. 11:05:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.
By Sean Maguire

    WARSAW (Reuters) -- Eastern Europeans Monday expressed relief at new signs that attacks on the United States appeared to have strengthened, not diluted, the European Union's commitment to opening its doors to the old Soviet bloc.
    Although EU enlargement was far from the top concern of Union leaders at a summit Friday, Belgium, the current EU president, and the European Commission, emphasized that widening Europe to the East was a core part of the new security agenda.
    "We are sending a message that the new international situation confirms enlargement is all the more necessary for stability, peace and democracy in Europe," said Jean-Christophe Filori, a spokesman for the Commission, the EU's executive.
    Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who is due to visit Warsaw Tuesday, even said that at its December summit the EU might name which states could enter in 2004, although other Belgian officials later retreated from the suggestion.
    The remarks reassured candidates worried that the Sept. 11 terror attacks, war in Afghanistan and economic slowdown would strengthen persistent doubts in some EU countries over the benefits of ambitious, swift and costly expansion plans.
    "This is very encouraging," said Pawel Swieboda, head of the European Union department at Poland's foreign ministry.
    But evidence of real progress in entry negotiations is needed to keep skeptics at bay, and the 2004 target for Union expansion on track. And for that Poland and its new europhile coalition government is key, say analysts.
    Poland, eastern Europe's economic and political heavyweight, plays such a central role that the EU may delay enlargement if it is not ready, angering the other candidates, building economic uncertainty and feeding popular euro-skepticism.
    Poland's new leftist coalition, sworn into office three days ago, has indicated it will make concessions to get talks moving and dispel its reputation as a negotiating laggard.
    "A lot does depend on Poland. We have heard the message and we will be accelerating our work," said Janusz Kaczurba, a former Polish EU negotiator and incoming deputy minister.

    PICKING THE WINNERS
    Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania began entry talks later than Poland, Hungary, Cyprus, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Estonia. Although they have caught up fast the late-starters still fear being made to wait to join.
    Andrejs Pildegovics, foreign policy adviser to Latvia's President, said he was pleased Verhofstadt wanted a wide intake into the EU at the next enlargement.
    "What encourages us with regard to the Belgian premier's remarks is what he said about the need for the next enlargement group to be as wide as possible," he said.
    Only Romania and Bulgaria, accepting they are far from ready, are targeting entry after 2004.
    Verhofstadt might clarify his thinking on his visit to Poland Tuesday when he will deliver a major foreign policy address on the "New World Order after September 11." It should offer further reassurance to candidates on the EU's open doors.

    POLAND'S NEXT MOVES
    Verhofstadt will be looking for firm commitments by new Polish prime minister Leszek Miller that his government can convert pledges of progress toward Europe into action.
    The tight timetable governing talks with the mostly ex-communist EU candidates means Poland has to clear long standing obstacles to progress soon if the deadline of ending negotiations by the end of 2002 is to remain realistic.
    "We should have substantial progress by the end of the year," said Kaczurba. Poland will give up demands for full immediate access to EU labor markets for all workers and shorten a requested ban on sales of land to foreigners.
    Those concessions should unblock talks, as will the streamlining of competing accession agencies into the foreign ministry to prevent confusion and the choice by Miller of Polish negotiators with credibility in Brussels.
    Miller, who says he has a deep personal commitment to Poland's EU entry, has another chance this week to affirm his goals when he makes his first official trip abroad to Germany, a key backer of Warsaw's campaign for Union membership.
    Diplomats say Miller's government will dwell less on Germany and Poland's difficult past than its center-right predecessor, allowing Berlin to offer more effective support on EU issues.
    A trip to Britain in early November may follow, giving Miller a chance to win Prime Minister Tony Blair's backing.

    BIG HURDLES AHEAD
    Analysts caution that Miller's arrival in office offers no guarantees for EU expansion, given that his coalition partners, the Peasants Party, will be wary of compromises over issues like aid to Poland's inefficient and over-manned farm sector.
    Crunch talks on farming subisidies and regional aid, the hardest issues because the most costly, have not yet begun.
    "As the most difficult chapters like agriculture have not even come to the table yet, it is very hard to say which countries will be able to end talks by when," said Alar Streimann, Estonia's chief EU negotiator.
    A clue as to who is shaping up effectively for entry will come in the November 13 EU reports on the applicants, which will likely praise economic improvements in the candidates but slam slow reforms in areas like fighting crime and border controls.

Reuters World Report Tuesday, 2001. October 23. 3:24:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.

    MELBOURNE, Oct 23 (Reuters) -- Ageing Nazi war crimes suspect Konrads Kalejs was wheeled into an Australian court on a stretcher on Tuesday for the begining of his appeal against extradition to Latvia.
    The 88-year-old Kalejs is wanted in Latvia on charges of war crimes and genocide related to his role as a commander of the Salaspils labour camp near Riga in 1942-43 during World War Two.
    At the start of the appeal in the Federal Court of Australia, his lawyer said Kalejs suffered dementia and he was wheelchair bound or strapped in a bed to stop him falling out.
    Judge Susan Kenny excused Kalejs, who was accompanied by ambulance officers in court, from attending the remainder of the appeal because of ill health.
    Kalejs was released on bail in May after a court hearing ruled in favour of extradition and has since lived at a home for the elderly in suburban Melbourne.
    His lawyers have appealed on several grounds including that the accusations in the statement of conduct are vague and that the extradition request was incorrectly issued.
    The court has also heard an appeal claiming that the extradition should have been conducted under the terms of a 1924 treaty with Latvia, which would have required evidence to be provided by Latvia.
    Judge Kenny was expected to hear evidence for the remainder of this week and then reserve a decision.

Reuters Financial Report Tuesday, 2001. October 23. 12:23:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.

    Reuters diary of time changes around the world up to October 2001 [excerpted]:
    SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28
    LATVIA -- Clocks go back by one hour, new time GMT+2

Reuters World Report Wednesday, 2001. October 24. 12:03:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.
By Burton Frierson

    RIGA, Oct 24 (Reuters) -- Latvia said on Wednesday it expected the European Union would agree this week to let it keep tight restrictions on a key national fishing ground after it joins the 15-nation bloc.
    The Baltic country's chief EU negotiator Andris Kesteris also said he expected to complete talks in Brussels on Friday on fulfilling customs requirements -- a cornerstone of EU membership which ensures free flow of goods and services between members.
    Latvia started EU talks last year, two years after the original front-running candidates, but is determined to catch up in order to join in the bloc's next expansion expected around 2004.
    The fisheries issue is sensitive for Latvia because it has protected herring stocks for years in a stretch of water in the Riga Gulf -- next to the Baltic Sea -- which will become EU waters after accession.
    At the moment it restricts the type of vessel that can fish in the waters, effectively banning large scale commercial fishing.
    Latvia fears stocks could diminish if major fishing vessels from future EU neighbours are allowed in once it joins the bloc.
    "Our request was to carry on with the fish resources (conservation) regime, and in principle the (European) Commission accepted this," Kesteris said.
    He said negotiations on customs would finish on Friday and there were good prospects of wrapping up fisheries talks the same day.

    SOME CRITICISM EXPECTED
    Next month the Commission, the EU's executive body, is due to issue reports on candidates' membership preparations.
    The EU uses the publication as an opportunity to praise and prod candidates to get them to stay the course on tough reforms and make good on earlier promises.
    Last year Latvia was wrapped on the knuckles for slow progress in agriculture and dawdling over the privatisation of several large firms -- although the vast majority of the economy is in private hands.
    This year, Kesteris says he expects some criticism in the area of judicial issues, particularly over long pre-trial detention periods due to court backlogs.
    "We have done something in this respect but there are still things to be done," he added.

COMTEX Newswire Thursday, 2001. October 25. 5:04:00
(C)2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

    Oct 25, 2001 (NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT via COMTEX) -- The Finnish retail chain Tiimari has reportedly opened a store in Riga, Latvia.
    The store is the chain's 194th and the chain aims to grow in the Baltic region, according to CEO Kim Hanslin. There are plans to open further stores in Riga within the next two years, reported STT-FNB, a Finnish news agency.

Reuters World Report Friday, 2001. October 26. 13:41:00
Copyright 2001 Reuters Ltd.
By Gareth Jones

    BRUSSELS, Oct 26 (Reuters) -- The Czech Republic reluctantly agreed on Friday to accept curbs on the free movement of its workers within the European Union after accession, falling into line with its neighbours Hungary and Slovakia.
    Poland, by far the biggest applicant country, signalled that it hoped to tackle this politically sensitive issue soon.
    Candidate countries say the temporary restrictions on movement will effectively turn their nationals into second-class citizens in the EU, but Germany and Austria, fearing an influx of cheap labour from the east, have insisted on the curbs.
    "As a sign of realism, we have been able to accept (the curbs)," said Czech chief negotiator Pavel Telicka after talks chaired by Belgium, holder of the Union's rotating presidency.
    But he said Prague had wrung a concession from the EU that would allow the Czech Republic after accession to impose restrictions against any other EU country, including new eastern members, if it felt a need to protect its own job market.
    Other candidates are expected to win the same right.
    "We are not saying that we will be protectionist, but we save this option as a theoretical, last possible safeguard," Telicka said.
    Under German and Austrian pressure, the 15-nation EU has agreed to impose flexible restrictions on eastern workers after enlargement ranging from two to a maximum of seven years.
    But several countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, have made clear their labour market will be completely open to workers from the new member states from day one after enlargement, which is expected to happen by 2004.

    EURO-SCEPTICISM
    The official EU stance has infuriated candidate countries, some of which have seen a rise in euro-scepticism, due partly to a perception that the wealthy member states are lukewarm about enlargement and want to deny them the benefits of the club.
    "(The restrictions on workers) have a serious impact on our public opinion," Telicka said.
    Slovak chief negotiator Jan Figel echoed his frustration.
    "Our policy is to support the opening of labour markets because the whole of Europe needs to become more competitive. We hope this philosophy prevails after enlargement," he said.
    In Friday's negotiations, the Czech Republic also wrapped up negotiations on the chapter (policy point) of financial control, while Slovakia completed talks on energy after winning a five-year exemption from EU rules on emergency oil stocks.
    The 12 negotiating countries, mostly from ex-communist Europe, have to bring their domestic legislation up to EU standards in a total of 31 policy areas before joining.
    The Czechs have now closed 21 chapters and Slovakia 20.
    Poland wrapped up talks on the complex environment chapter, bringing its tally to 18. But it has yet to tackle the issue of free movement of people or the equally sensitive issue of allowing EU citizens the right to buy Polish land.
    "These issues are under analysis by the government," said Polish chief negotiator Jan Truszczynski.
    Poland has fallen behind other frontrunner candidates in recent months, but Truszczynski said it would try to catch up.
    "We intend to pursue our negotiations with speed, energy and resolve, but there are in several chapters issues which must be handled with efficiency and care," he said.
    Also on Friday, Latvia closed the chapters on fisheries and customs, Bulgaria closed telecoms and Malta transport.
    The other candidates -- Romania, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Cyprus and Lithuania -- did not close any chapters on Friday.
    Cyprus and Hungary lead the field with 23 and 22 chapters respectively. Romania comes last with just eight.

COMTEX Newswire Sunday, 2001. October 28. 8:14:00
(c) 2001 ITAR-TASS
[Excerpt]

    Minsk -- Activists of the radical wing of the Belarussian opposition are holding on Sunday an authorised march and a rally in Minsk. These actions have been timed to coincide with Commemoration of Ancestors Day and International Day of Memory for Victims of Political Repression, which will be marked next week. Demonstration participants gathered in the Minsk downtown and headed in a thin column for a Minsk suburb, called Kuropaty where several dozen thousands of innocent victims of the Stalin reprisals had been killed and lie at rest. Marchers -- mostly supporters of the Constitutional Christian Party headed by Zenon Poznyak who emigrated to the United States in 1996 -- bore candles and big wooden crosses. Following a mournful rally in Kuropaty, the crosses will be installed at places of common graves. The Sunday actions are the first mass events by the opposition after the presidential elections in Belarus on September 9 where Alexander Lukashenko's political opponents suffered a staggering defeat.

A guitarist at the "corner" of Aldaru iela and Troksnu iela in Vecriga, from July 2001.