Latvia Implementation Report 2017-2019
- Action Plan: Latvia National Action Plan 2017-2019
- Dates Under Review: 2017-2019
- Report Publication Year: 2020
- Researcher: Zinta Miezaine
Latvia’s third action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... saw significant improvements in open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici..., access to budget information, and beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More. Other commitments effected incremental, positive steps in areas including whistleblower protection, lobbyingLobbying transparency allows the public to ensure that there is diversity of participation and contribution to public decision-making. Technical specifications: Policies and actions affecting lobbying... regulations for public officials, and governance of state-owned enterprises. Latvia’s fourth action plan will cover several of the same areas from the third plan, like lobbying transparency, as well as several new areas, such as open government at the local level and anticorruption in the healthcare sector.
Table 1. At a glance Participating since: 2011 Action plan under review: Third Report type: Implementation Number of commitments: 12 Action plan development Action plan design Action plan implementation *DIOG: Did it Open Government |
The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. Latvia joined OGP in 2011. Since, Latvia has implemented three action plans. This report evaluates the implementation of Latvia’s third action plan.
General overview of action plan
Most of the commitments in Latvia’s third action plan were fully or substantially completed. This was partly the result of the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... of small-scale but achievable activities for most commitments.
The plan resulted in noticeable improvements in the areas of open data, access to budget information, and beneficial ownership transparency. During its implementation, the number of datasets available on Latvia’s open data portal increased considerably (CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 3) and detailed budget information is now published in interactive and reusable formats (Commitment 5). Also, detailed information on Latvian enterprises is now available for free (Commitment 11).
Table 2. Noteworthy commitments
Commitment description | Status at the end of implementation cycle. |
3. Open data portal
Prioritize datasets for release in open data formats, increase the number of datasets on the open data portal, and expand the circle of institutions that release data. |
This commitment significantly increased the number of datasets published on Latvia’s open data portal as well as the number of publishing public institutions. During implementation, data users and the government collaborated on choosing which datasets to open. |
5. Interactive budget tool
Develop an interactive tool to improve navigation of budget information and data. |
The Ministry of Finance now publishes in reusable and interactive format detailed information on the proposed and approved budget as well as the expected results. This is a significant improvement, as previously, budget information was mostly published in PDF format. This information is now available in open format for analysis. |
11. Transparency on Latvian enterprises and their beneficiary owners
Develop a new Enterprise Register (ER) with information on beneficial ownership of private enterprises and link its data to the EU JusticeTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... portal. |
Starting in December 2019, detailed information on Latvian enterprises that previously required a fee for viewing is now available for free on the new Enterprise Register. These improvements are significant as previously, individual searches were needed for obtaining detailed information. |
Five Key IRM Recommendations
The IRM key recommendations are prepared in the IRM Design Report. They aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan. In Latvia’s (2017−2019) Design Report, the IRM recommended the following:
Ensure greater involvement of the Council of Memorandum during the development of the next action plan and publish feedback during consultations. |
Continue improving lobbying transparency with the involvement of Parliament. |
Continue strengthening whistleblower protection by improving channels and mechanisms for reporting. |
Include more ambitious commitments that address transparency in the financial sector, such as beneficial ownership, and making Enterprise Register information publicly accessible. |
Continue improving systems for public consultations and promote open government locally. |
Leave a Reply