Education and Science, Latvia, Legislation

Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (Greens/Farmers) and 12 out of 13 ministers in his Cabinet have valid clearances for access to state secrets. Security screening in respect of one minister is under way, said the Constitutional Protection Bureau, the top national security agency responsible for granting security clearances to Latvian ministers.

Iveta Maura, a spokeswoman for the Constitutional Protection Bureau, told LETA the screening procedure in respect of the last minister had begun only recently after they had received the necessary documentation.

The Constitutional Protection Bureau would not say which minister they were still scrutinizing for the purposes of security clearance.

In early February few days before approval of the new Cabinet, Kucinskis himself and two ministers – Sadurskis and Arvils Aseradens, proposed as the economics minister – still had not received the required security clearance. It means that Aseradens is now the only one in the new Cabinet without the security clearance for access to state secrets.