Latvia suspends EU-funded integration project over criminal case

Latvia’s Ministry of Culture has suspended an almost 100,000-euro European Union-funded integration project because of a criminal case involving Ieva Raubiško, a board member of the association Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem, LSM reported. The project organisers disagree with the decision and are considering challenging it in court.

The ministry suspended the project one day before it was due to begin. The association had planned to implement it together with the Satori online magazine and the Latvian New Theatre Institute, using cultural and artistic activities to promote the integration of third-country nationals in Latvia.

The project was also to include a three-day cultural diversity festival in Riga next summer. Satori editor-in-chief and project manager Andrejs Vīksna said the magazine had planned to invite five Latvian authors to create stories with five third-country nationals based on their biographies. The stories were to be presented at a joint event called a story disco.

The project is worth almost 100,000 euros. About 75,000 euros was to come from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, with the remainder covered by the state budget.

The Ministry of Culture said it made the decision after receiving an opinion from the Ministry of the Interior. Raubiško was found guilty in the first instance in a criminal case involving support for illegal border crossing.

The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of the Interior have cited reputational and financial risks. The Ministry of Culture said that suspending the project was intended to protect public funds, as the state could otherwise have to recover the money if the association were found to have a poor reputation.

The project organisers have said the decision could constitute political interference in the administration of European funds.