Latvia a liberal economy and its re-orientation toward Western Europe, Latvia is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. In 2014, Riga was the European Capital of Culture, the euro was introduced as the currency of the country and a Latvian was named vice-president of the European Commission. In 2015 Latvia held the presidency of Council of the European Union. Big European events have been celebrated in Riga such as the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and the European Film Awards 2014. On 1 July 2016, Latvia became a member of the OECD. Latvia lies in Northern Europe, on
Government of Latvia Government of Latvia The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia (Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: "Latvijas Republikas Ministru kabinets"), which form the executive branch of the Government of Latvia. The Latvian Government primarily consists of ethnic Latvians, representatives of minorities, such as ethnic Russians, Ukrainians or Byelorussians, do not participate in the decision-making at the executive level. Since the early 2000s cabinet meetings in Latvia have been open to the