Auditor General Edgars Korčagins addressed the Saeima members on Thursday, 4 June 2026, presenting his annual report on the achievements of the past period and future plans.
Auditor General Edgars Korčagins
04.06.2026
Dear Madam Speaker of the Saeima, Esteemed Members of Parliament,
When viewed through the prism of the audit results of the State Audit Office of Latvia, the past year sheds light on several strategically important issues that require political decisions not only in the future but already today. These are issues that will affect both the well-being of the population and the financial and security sustainability of the state in the coming decade. Therefore, the saying is appropriate that sledges should be prepared in the summer because late action on these issues means incomparably higher costs in the future.
First of all, it is the rising cost of living. Energy and transport poverty still seem theoretical concepts to many today. The audit results of the State Audit Office show that they can become structural problems with a direct impact on social cohesion, employment opportunities and trust without timely action in the state. Action is a timely measure to alleviate the burden caused by rising energy prices on vulnerable groups in society and people with lower incomes.
Heat, fuel and electricity will become greener. This is dictated by external conditions that make conventional fossil resources more difficult to access and force the increasing use of home-grown energy sources, security considerations and the need to improve the climate to leave a favourable environment for future generations.
Since the transition to greener energy affects every resident of Latvia, the task of policymakers is to ensure that it is inclusive and fair for all. We must not allow a situation in which retrofitted housing, lower bills and accessible emission-free transport become a privilege while the green transition only means increasing costs and fewer and fewer options for others.
An important tool for addressing these challenges is the financing available to Latvia from the Social Climate Fund. Targeted support for socially vulnerable households will create the prerequisites for a fair transition to greener energy and avoid solving energy poverty problems in the future.
Life “on paper” or policies, plans and documents that have no real-life basis is one of the most significant obstacles to high-quality state administration. It creates a distorted vision of what is happening in one area or another, prevents the creation of high-quality policies and public services, and misleads citizens about the services and opportunities available to them.
If a policy document is without identified problems to be solved, a desired situation and achievable results, and its implementation is uncoordinated, and without a clear understanding of the invested funds, then it is quite safe to say that we will not solve anything with its help and will not facilitate any development. This is exactly the picture we discovered in the audit when assessing how the implementation of a cohesive social policy was going.
The audit on inpatient healthcare revealed that several services in hospitals were considered available, but residents did not have the opportunity to receive them in reality and that it was better not to even take patients to these hospitals.
Year after year, overly ambitious development plans inconsistent with Latvia’s needs and capabilities for the national airline have been presented, promising to return the money lent to the company by the state budget to taxpayers, but this was not been implemented. Therefore, it is quite understandable that the public and political trust in the airline’s management was lost.
What these examples have in common is that the reality declared in the documents does not correspond systematically to what the population experiences in practice. Unfortunately, these are not the only examples. The more such “crooked mirrors” there are, the lower the public trust in state administration will be. And without this trust, implementing either large-scale financial investments in national security or the necessary structural reforms is impossible.
It is the duty of those working in state administration to speak clearly and show the true situation, even if it is not bright or reveals the shortcomings of previously made decisions. Better a bitter truth than a sugary deception.
Taking a look at what we can do without in the future from time to time is an indispensable prerequisite for the development of an institution, local or regional government, sector or the entire country. The past year has shown that there are state institutions and processes in state administration that we can do without. Fewer institutions, fewer state-owned enterprises, less expenditure; this is not an end in itself but a tool for a more effective and sustainable state. It can make the work of state administration faster, cheaper and free up resources for doing urgently needed work.
In its new strategy, the State Audit Office of Latvia has committed to ensuring that state administration works to reduce administrative burdens, excessive bureaucracy, and unnecessary spending.
In the reporting year, the State Audit Office has completed a four-year work cycle, which has made us look back on what has been accomplished since 2022 and think about the institution’s role in strengthening the financial efficiency of state administration in the next stage of development. The report presents the results of the work of the State Audit Office team, which sheds light on the above-mentioned and many other challenges essential to the growth of our country. It also shows the growth of the State Audit Office team and the State Audit Office as an institution. We are becoming stronger in assessing new and important issues for society, and this contributes to the well-being of society and the promotion of national sustainable development.
Thank you to the State Audit Office team and all our cooperation partners!
I highly appreciate the contribution of the Saeima Public Expenditure and Audit Committee, state and municipal institutions and law enforcement agencies on the common path towards more effective and responsible state governance.
Additional reading: Annual Public Report 2025 of the State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia
About the State Audit Office of Latvia
The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia is an independent, collegial supreme audit institution. The purpose of its activity is to find out whether the actions with the financial means and property of a public entity are legal, correct, useful and in line with public interests, as well as to provide recommendations for the elimination of discovered irregularities. The State Audit Office conducts audits in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions INTOSAI (ISSAI), whose recognition in Latvia is determined by the Auditor General. Upon discovering deficiencies, the State Audit Office of Latvia provides recommendations for their elimination, but it informs law enforcement authorities about potential infringements of the law.