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Russian-style church in Latvia. Russian influence in the country goes back long before the Soviet Union (Photo: Holy Trinity Church of Pārdaugava)

Latvia vote poses question on Russian as EU language

A referendum on making Russian an official language in Latvia has raised a faint possibility of it also becoming an official language of the EU.

The country's Central Election Commission (CEC) itself predicts the poll, on 18 February, will be a non-starter. A CEC spokeswoman, Kristine Berzina, told EUobserver on Tuesday (14 February) that "the level for the vote is so high it will never happen."

According to the rules, half of all eligible voters in Latvia - 1.5 million people - m...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

Russian-style church in Latvia. Russian influence in the country goes back long before the Soviet Union (Photo: Holy Trinity Church of Pārdaugava)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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