At the same time that Croatia elected its first female president, Kolinda Grabar - Kitarović, in Strasbourg, at the plenary session of the European Parliament, another woman, Prime Minister of Latvia Laimdota STRAUJUMA presented the priorities of the six-month presidency of the EU Council, which it just took over from Italy.

 
''Latvia has achieved a fascinating success in just 25 years after breakaway from the Soviet Union, 10 years after accession to the EU and a year after accession to the Euro Zone it has taken over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. I understand how big your success is since I come from Croatia, which has gone down a similar, but more complex path. Bearing in mind the recent events in Paris, when our humanity and solidarity is more necessary than ever, only a strong economy can be a guarantor of growth and social justice. Your program is compatible with Juncker's program for investment, and for the first time, all institutions will follow the same plan, which gives us hope,'' said MEP Dubravka Šuica in her first plenary speech in 2015.
 
The Latvian Presidency, which took over the presidency on 8 January, will concentrate on three main priorities: competitiveness and growth of the economies in the EU, the use of European digital resources, and strengthening the role of the Union on the global scene. Considerable efforts will be invested in the growth of investments and economic reforms, the revision of the 2020 European Strategy, creation of a single digital market and banking union, resumption of negotiations on enlargement and improvement of migration, but also in security and defense policy.
 
"We have to have one stream, and with that you can count on the support of Parliament, and our goal is a competitive Europe with a focus on the digital economy that is now crucial for economic development and new jobs. Your geopolitical position is particularly important at this time and it is clear that we need to insist on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the Neighbourhood Policy and solving problems of migration in southern Europe," concluded Šuica.
 
During the Italian presidency, priorities were economic growth and employment, foreign policy, the fight against terrorism, justice and home affairs, while immigration policy with regard to the large influx of immigrants in the EU was taken into account, especially in the Mediterranean, where only in 2014, the lives of more than 3,000 immigrants were lost.

Video (in Croatian language):