On Monday 14 October, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft law “On the State Budget for 2025 and the Budget Framework for 2025, 2026 and 2027" to be submitted to the Saeima for consideration, which earmarks the funds for the State Chancellery for the operation of the Crisis Management Centre. The Centre is currently being formed, but from next year the approach to civil crisis management in Latvia will change.
As previously reported, the Crisis Management Centre will take over the functions of the Secretariat of the Crisis Management Council and will be responsible for drafting the documents required for decision-making, as well as coordinating the work and crisis communication of the institutions involved in civil crisis management. It should be emphasized that resolving a local or regional civil crisis remains the responsibility of the relevant local government and the competent authorities of the area affected by the civil crisis.
The establishment of a Situation Centre or the so-called SITCEN will be a major innovation in civil crisis management in Latvia. It will provide 24/7 monitoring of the situation and collection of information in cooperation with the operational institutions in the country to identify and objectively assess potential threats and to prepare for crisis situations in Latvia as pre-emptively as possible.
The analytical capacity of the Crisis Management Centre will play an essential role in identifying and addressing risks in a timely manner. It will need to be able to identify and assess risks in the compiled data and propose solutions to reduce or eliminate the threats. The Crisis Management Centre will operate at two levels. At the strategic level of crisis management, draft decisions based on situation analysis will be presented to the Crisis Management Council. At the operational level – the coordination of stakeholders – decisions will be taken directly by the Crisis Management Centre.
The establishment of the Crisis Management Centre at the State Chancellery under the Prime Minister’s direct authority is part of the strengthening of the State Chancellery as the government centre in line with the Plan for the Modernisation of Public Administration and the Government Declaration. The structure and functions of the Centre will be developed based on previous experience in civil crisis management in Latvia, as well as foreign experience in coordinating crisis management at national level.
The funding earmarked in the draft law approved by the Government is intended to attract human resources, to cover training and exchange of experience related costs, utilities and communication services, as well as to maintain the working environment. The budget for 2025 will amount to EUR 958 thousand.