LV: New database of research papers on EU
Financially supported by the European Commission’s Representation in Latvia, the scheme will enable readers to expand their knowledge of EU matters and, thereby, it is hoped, raise the quality of citizen participation in debates about the Union. As Iveta Šulca, head of the EC Representation in Latvia, explains, “Full public participation in discussions and decision-making requires sound and transparent information, and the new database will offer just that – and free of charge. The Lisbon Treaty provides instruments to make the EU more efficient and more democratic, but this cannot be achieved without an informed public discussion on current EU issues.”
The Representation also anticipates that the database will serve as a useful source of information for the media and anyone interested in European Union matters, including state officials, students and academics.
At present, the database offers around 200 papers, mostly in English, covering EU foreign policy, migration, integration of immigrants, free movement of workers, Latvia’s participation in the Union, energy, the future of the EU, human rights, EU enlargement, the environment, the Structural Funds and agriculture. It is intended that sources should include public, private and non-governmental studies, as well as papers and dissertations from Latvian universities. Universities and other higher education establishments are invited to use the new resource and to offer their own materials for the database.
