Opposition MPs are proposing to ban goods and services from Russia and Belarus in public procurement

NA’s proposal provides for the Law on Public Procurement and the Law on Procurement of Public Service Providers to strengthen the requirement for the customer, when preparing the purchase, to ensure that the execution of the order does not include goods and services originating in Russia and Belarus.

It is planned that the amendments will enter into force on January 1 of the following year.

The opposition MPs explain in the annotation of the draft law that, despite Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, as well as Belarus’ support for the aggressor state, goods and services of Russian and Belarusian origin are still found in public procurement in Latvia.

This means that through public procurement, Russia obtains funds to be used to finance aggression against Ukraine, says NA.

The author of the proposal, Uģis Mitrevics (NA), tells the LETA agency that parents cannot be completely sure that “children are not fed with food products produced by aggressor countries”, because school meals are provided by a caterer or supplier determined by public procurement.

At present, the rules governing public procurement stipulate that suppliers cannot be sanctioned companies, companies and individuals registered in Russia. However, there is no requirement to trace the origin of all goods or products, the deputy emphasizes. For example, if food products are supplied from wholesale bases, as is mostly the case, the origin of the products is not particularly controlled.

“What is the point of sanctions, one of the goals of which is to weaken the aggressor state’s ability to wage war, if goods originating from Russia and Belarus can still be delivered in public procurement in Latvia, which only means that through Latvian public procurement, Russia obtains financial resources that can be were used to support Russian aggression,” Mitrevics believes.

Previously, NA deputies had proposed to prohibit companies that continue cooperation with Russia or Belarus from participating in state and local government procurement. In January, the Saeima referred the mentioned amendments to the Budget and Finance (Tax) Commission for consideration.