Latvia has introduced new restrictions on citizens of Russia and Belarus, banning them from owning or controlling critical infrastructure in the country.
What happened
The Latvian parliament, known as the Saeima, made the decision on Thursday, October 8, to prevent citizens of the two countries from acquiring significant stakes or exerting decisive influence over critical infrastructure facilities.
Critical infrastructure in Latvia is categorized into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Category D includes essential services such as food production and distribution, heat supply, and medicine distribution, whose disruption could jeopardize public and national security in the event of war.
The new amendments stipulate that citizens of Russia and Belarus cannot be beneficial owners or exercise indirect influence over these critical processes. A beneficial owner is defined as someone with a shareholding of at least 10% of a company's share capital or voting shares.
The Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with other relevant ministries, will identify entities in Category D critical infrastructure with significant stakes or decisive influence held by Russian or Belarusian citizens by December 1, 2026, and submit proposals to exclude them from critical infrastructure.
