Several “New Unity” (Jaunā Vienotība/JV) cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister, a Deputy Mayor of Riga, the head of the party’s parliamentary faction and other members of parliament went on a pleasant-sounding trip Italy at the end of last week, reports Latvian Television.

The politicians participated in a seminar on the shores of Lake Como – one of Europe’s most upscale luxury tourism destinations – paid for by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Foundation), a German think-tank. The foundation does not disclose the costs of the trip or which representatives of the political force were invited. 

Several officials of the New Unity party were seen on a flight to Milan at the end of the working week. At that time, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Education and Science, the Minister of Finance, Smart Administration and Regional Development, as well as the Minister of Health, were all approved for leave by the head of government, Evika Siliņa.

Latvian Television found out that the ministers, along with several other officials, traveled to Italy in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. There, a seminar was held with German and Moldovan experts, in which issues related to Europe’s economic challenges, as well as risks related to Russian interference in democratic electoral processes were discussed, confirmed the advisor to Riga Deputy Mayor Viļnis Ķirsis. Ķirsis was among those participating in the event, in his free time.

“The composition [of the travelling group] also included those people who might be more interested in it… it was also for those who find this proposed agenda, which has been mentioned, useful and interesting. It is clear that not all active politicians can come at the same time, of course,” said Edmunds Jurēvics, leader of the JV Saeima faction.

When asked whether the topics of Moldova and Russian interference might have been more important for the Minister of Internal Affairs than, for example, for the Minister of Education, Jurēvics replied:

“This was a trip that was in connection with the invitation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. This was a discussion about very important issues related to both the security of elections from the Moldovan side, and also to common challenges for Europe.”

Possibly the fact that it was taking place beside Lake Como rather than Ghidighici Reservoir near Chisinau may also have been a ‘pull factor’ for the popular paid-for weekender, though no JV politicians appear to have admitted as much.

It should be noted that, for example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was appointed as the acting Minister of Justice while she was in northern Italy. Minister of Justice Lībiņa-Egnere confirmed that she went to the seminar in her free time: “I gained knowledge about influencing elections from Moldovan experts,” she maintained.

In turn, Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development Raimonds Čudars added: “This knowledge that we gained is not directly related to work, but is related to political activity. That’s why it’s vacation time.” 

Jurēvics also insisted that MPs and ministers used such trips in their free time from work to gain knowledge as politicians, not while performing their duties as public officials. 

Aksed how the public can be sure that this was not a trip in which the chief attractions were pasta, Chianti and la dolce vita, but a genuine endeavour, Jurēvics replied: “Because the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a very serious institution. At their invitation, they don’t host recreational trips, but scientific seminars.”

Jurēvics revealed that not all attendees arrived in Italy at the same time. 

Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens also added that the recent experience of Moldova in relation to attempts to influence the course of elections has been studied in order to avoid such problems in Latvia.

“It was in Italy at Lake Como. It takes place at the Adenauer Foundation training facility,” Ašeradens said. That facility can be found on the premises of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s luxurious Villa La Collina, which the Foundation itself describes as “an exclusive meeting venue or individual vacation resort”.

“Villa La Collina is located in one of the most beautiful settings on Lake Como… Today the historical villa, together with the Konrad Adenauer Academy, presents itself in the middle of a large and well-kept park as an exclusive venue for conferences and seminars, but also as an accommodation for individual guests,” says the Foundation’s website.

“The initiator and organizers, and the inviters, were us, the representative office of the Adenauer Foundation in Riga, in the Baltic States. We selected the invitees together with the leader of the New Unity party and representatives of the faction, and also based on our cooperation with the politicians of New Unity. We represent the European People’s Party here, and we also have cooperation with the European People’s Party’s Latvian member organization New Unity, that was the justification. All costs were covered by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation,” said Una Spēlmane-Baumane, the representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Latvia. 

However, she declined to disclose the costs covered, questioning whether the foundation is obliged to provide such information. Nor did she provide information about the circle of invited persons. However, she confirmed that the Prime Minister participated in this event. 

The main funding for the Adenauer Foundation comes from the German state budget. It is not yet clear whether the travel costs could be considered a donation from a non-governmental organization to a political party or something else. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) promises to comment on Tuesday.

If you fancy emulating the experience of these leading Latvian politicians, it is possible to do so even if you have not been elected to office or invited to discuss Moldovan elections. Rooms at Villa Collina can be booked by regular members of the public too, as this price list shows. The cheapest single room in off-season April at the Accademia Konrad Adenauer will set you back 175 euros per night, lunch will cost you 40 euros and dinner will cost your 50 euros (excluding drinks, sadly, though you do get “free, filtered mineral water during the whole stay”). 

On its website, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung notes that its work is “expensive yet valuable” and boasts that it believes in “critically questioning our own actions on a regular basis and making adjustments where necessary.”