diplomacy
Latvia’s head of government praised Merkel’s ability to compromise
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) stands next to Krisjanis Karins, Prime Minister of Latvia, at a press conference. Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
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The Baltic state with less than two million inhabitants is one of the smaller states of the EU. Latvia’s Prime Minister has many words of praise for the still-Chancellor from Germany.
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins praised the ability of Chancellor Angela Merkel to compromise.
“She not only pretended to listen to everyone, big or small, but she really listened,” he said, referring to Merkel’s role as crisis manager at many EU summits. “That was also the great strength of her and her country – the ability to listen to all views without distinguishing between large countries and small countries.” This created a real community at the table of the European Council, Karins said on Latvian television on Saturday evening.
Latvia is the middle of the three Baltic states in northeastern Europe. With 1.9 million inhabitants, the state the size of Bavaria is one of the smaller of the 27 EU states. The Baltic state with centuries of German history has been a member of the EU and NATO since 2004.