FICIL 20th anniversary celebration

On October 10, FICIL gathered together with its members, government representatives, partners and friends to celebrate the special occasion of our 20th anniversary. We are grateful to everyone for the successful cooperation, professionalism, expertise and true devotion that has brought us to where we are today! To achieve more success, we will continue moving forward with our joint efforts in tackling issues that are pertinent to the business environment and development in the future. The photo gallery from the event is available here. For historical insight into how FICIL came to be, follow the link here.

FICIL in Action

FICIL members are currently actively working on developing concrete proposals for the Ministry of Finance in preparation for the upcoming tax reform in 2021, as well as discussing more acute issues that need to be tackled ahead of the reform. The tax policy and administration work group is focusing on predictability, stability, transparency and efficient administration of the tax system as the main pillars.

FICIL held a meeting with the Minister of Transport Mr. Tālis Linkaits to discuss the possibility of developing an infrastructure research project with the aim to identify potential issues the business community faces in regards to infrastructure system in Latvia.

Education work group leader Mr. Claudio Rivera and executive director Mārtiņš Panke took part in a discussion forum on modernising the governance model of higher education institutions, organised by the think-tank Latvijas Formula 2050. Mr. Rivera presented FICIL’s views on the importance of a competitive and modern education system in the overall growth of Latvia. FICIL is also participating in a discussion cycle organised by the Ministry of Education and Science aimed at identifying challenges in Latvia’s higher education system.

Energy and waste management work group leader Ms. Dace Cīrule has taken part in Saeima’s Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee meetings on efficient deposit system implementation. FICIL also participated in the Budget and Finance (Taxation) Committee meeting to outline the importance of predictable and stable taxation policy across all sectors in light of the State budget planning for 2020.

Intellectual Property work group met up to discuss the Copyright law, focusing on authors’ rights, including moral rights and reasonable limits on authors’ rights to revoke their work. The effort to reach positive change in this matter is currently ongoing.

Investment Protection and Court Efficiency work group’s leader Mr. Māris Vainovskis is closely cooperating with the Ministry of Justice to develop recommendations on the establishment of the Court of Economic Affairs.

Please check the calendar at www.ficil.lv for upcoming work group meetings. To register for any of the work groups, please follow this link.

If you have any questions or would like more detailed information concerning specific work group planned activities please contact FICIL project director Linda Helmane at ficil@ficil.lv