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 institutions in Latvia Government institutions in Latvia This is a list of government and municipal institutions of Latvia and their subordinated institutions with executive powers: Latvian Chancery of the President Saeima Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia The State Audit Office Latvijas Banka The Central Election Commission The Financial and Capital Market Commission The Ombudsman's Office The National Council for Electronic Media The Public Utilities Commission Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau Society Integration Foundation Coordination Centre of Policy Sectors National Armed Forces National Defence Academy Recruiting and Youth Guard Centre Military Intelligence and Security Service