Sarmite Feldman.
Is it some kind of evil spell cast on us, are we such careless fools or are we too wise in our positions of power – one wants to ask, hearing about another wave of social change. It started quietly, then a strong northerly blew in and relative calm returned. The story is about the passports that those who need them will get when the old ones run out.
Of course, there are issues that everyone has something to say about. One of them is definitely at any price. It was announced that in the future the passport will cost 60 euros, exactly half as expensive as it is now. The first question is why. It has been said for years that Latvian passports are one of the most secure, and also quite neat in terms of appearance. The new ones will be even safer, more beautiful in terms of design. Everything changes, technology develops, you have to follow the new to keep up. And don’t we see every day that everything becomes more expensive!
When the media became interested in why the new passports would cost so much, the responsible institutions did not give a clear answer, only reservations were heard that there are already identity cards now, and there are fewer and fewer citizens who also choose passports. It could be understood that the passport would be an exclusive document to show off. Word for word, opinion for opinion, and … the price of the passport was reduced by almost half. 34 euros instead of the current 30 euros. We can only be happy at how understanding and supportive the authorities are and how they are able to find the means so that the citizens do not have to pay directly from their own pockets, but the increase in price is compensated by the amount paid in taxes.
That could be the end of the story. But still questions, perhaps more misunderstanding, remain. The state institution calculates the price of the service, the citizens say that it is too expensive, and the price is reduced. Wonderful! In the hands of the school, as soon as they want to increase the fee for something, you just have to object, and it won’t happen. True, somewhat absurd. But that’s what happened this time, besides, without explanations why it was 60 euros, why you can get by with 34. And this is where the inability of state institutions to explain what needs to be done and why and what costs how much.
It can only be added that Latvia has the sixth cheapest passports among European Union countries. In Bulgaria, to get a passport, you have to pay 20.45 euros, in the Czech Republic – 28.53, in Spain – 30, in Poland – 32.26, in Slovakia – 33, in Latvia it will be 34 euros. But in Denmark a new passport costs 131.57 euros, in Italy 116, in Belgium – 90, in the Netherlands passport and ID card together – 148.50 euros. Mostly the price is between 40 and 50 euros. True, the term for which the document is issued differs, and then the bill comes out different.
2024-01-22 12:08:23
#future #eDruva
