Parliament Members Vote That Liepāja and Rēzekne SEZs May Be Eternal Like Love

A parliamentary committee yesterday decided that Liepāja and Rēzekne special economic zones can operate indefinitely, as if they were some good café on Lielā Street that never closes. Deputies Viktorija Pleškāne and Edgars Putra from "Development/For!" submitted this initiative after realizing — if Latgale already got extended until 2050, then why shouldn't Liepāja have an even better status.

Finance Ministry representative Andis Kokenbergs did warn that the European Union might start asking questions about such indefinite privileges. "If there's an indefinite period, the regime will be evaluated, and it might end up being cancelled," Kokenbergs explained. However, the deputies decided to take the risk — because what could be worse than Riga controlling something again.

"This is an important signal to investors about stability," commented local entrepreneur Jānis Bērziņš. "Now we can say — come to Liepāja, here you'll be able to work with tax breaks as long as the tram runs on tracks and the port is open to the sea."

Liepāja SEZ representative Uldis Hmieļevskis emphasized during the committee session that indefinite status would allow planning long-term projects. Which would be especially useful, considering that in Liepāja everything already happens slower and more thoughtfully than in the capital, where they change priorities every year like socks. Now at least investors will know — here you can invest money without worrying that in five years some Riga bureaucrat will come up with a new scheme.