Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia of the city centre traditionally starts at the monument of Kārlis Ulmanis, the first prime minister of Latvia, and ends at the Freedom Monument. Another tradition with a long history is the Latvian National Armed Forces parade, which nowadays is held at 11 November Embankment in Riga. A popular modern tradition established in 2009, is for people all over the world to sing the Latvian national anthem "Dievs, svētī Latviju!" at the same time (21:00 EET). Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia is celebrated annually on 18 November. It marks the anniversary
History of Latvia World Trade Organization. At the end of 1999 in Helsinki, the heads of the European Union governments invited Latvia to begin negotiations regarding accession to the European Union. In 2004, Latvia's most important foreign policy goals, membership of the European Union and NATO, were fulfilled. On April 2, Latvia became a member of NATO and on May 1, Latvia, along with the other two Baltic States, became a member of the European Union. Around 67% had voted in favor of EU membership in a September 2003 referendum with turnout at 72.5%. History of Latvia The history of Latvia began around