Today, on 26 March Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (MFA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Latvia signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This agreement will provide an opportunity for public sector professionals, NGOs and academia to study European Union law and economics at RGSL. This study programme is open to participants from European Neighbourhood Policy countries, Central Asia, and the Western Balkans.
Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the State Secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Andrejs Pildegovičs, Ambassador of Norway in Latvia H.E. Steinar Egil Hagen and RGSL Acting Rector Jānis Ikstens.
The funding for the programme, 1.98 million EUR, is provided by the government of Norway and it allows to conduct six consecutive Advanced Programmes in European Law and Economics for 180 participants from 2018 until 2020. Each programme lasts three months and includes a study visit to EU institutions in Brussels and Luxemburg.
The first Programme was launched in autumn 2014 by the Latvian MFA in cooperation with RGSL with an intention to provide training based on Latvian experience to participants from countries seeking closer cooperation with the EU. The programme has been successful at gathering international support ever since the Latvian Presidency at the Council of the European Union in 2015. In addition to the support of the Latvian and Norwegian governments, the programme has also received continued support from the government of the Kingdom of Sweden, the government of the Swiss Confederation and the government of the United States of America.
The academic partners of the Advanced Programme are the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, the University of Latvia, and the European Institute for Public Administration.
Currently, more than 100 graduates from 16 countries have graduated from the Advanced Programme.