On April 15, 2025, at a press conference, the Minister of the Interior informed media representatives that the Ministry of the Interior has prepared a draft Cabinet of Ministers order with a list of objects that will be eligible to receive funding from the European Regional Development Fund for the adaptation and equipping of Category III shelters. The project has been submitted for inter-institutional coordination in the Unified Legal Acts Project Development and Coordination Portal.
The press conference was also attended by the Chief of the State Fire and Rescue Service, Colonel Mārtiņš Baltmanis, and the Head of the Riga City Council's Civil Protection and Operational Information Department, Gints Reinsons.
The list includes 570 objects (of which 453 are owned by municipalities and 117 by the state), which are planned to receive funding from the European Regional Development Fund to be equipped in accordance with the requirements of Category III shelters. The funding from the European Regional Development Fund is planned to be approximately 22.2 million euros.
Of the objects owned by municipalities, funding is planned for the establishment of 65 shelters in the Kurzeme planning region, 60 in Latgale, 66 in Vidzeme, 55 in Zemgale, and 207 in the Riga planning region.
Currently, the State Fire and Rescue Service has inspected more than 3,000 state and municipal objects and recognized more than 1,600 as compliant or partially compliant.
The Minister of the Interior noted that Latvia is ahead of both Lithuania and Estonia in addressing the issue of shelters. The planned funding for 570 objects is only the initial stage, and discussions are already underway to attract funding from the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism for further shelter adaptation.
The funding from the European Regional Development Fund became possible thanks to the support of other sectors, which allowed funds allocated to other programs to be redirected to shelter establishment needs.
It was also emphasized that in order to practically start addressing the shelter issue, it was necessary to streamline the regulatory framework. On February 11, the Ministry of the Interior submitted amendments to the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Law to the Saeima, which strengthens the concept of shelters in legislation, mandates the compulsory construction of shelters for certain building groups, and provides regulations for the creation, adaptation, and use of shelters in the event of military conflict, war, or disaster.
M. Baltmanis introduced the shelter inspection process, as well as the criteria by which objects were evaluated to be included in the list of funding recipients. Objects were evaluated according to their compliance with the requirements of Category III shelters, location, area, as well as accessibility to residents and evacuation possibilities.
G. Reinsons, in turn, provided information on the situation regarding shelter possibilities in Riga. He emphasized the need to create shelters as dual-function objects – to be used for everyday needs, not just in the event of a military threat.
Cooperation with private building owners is also very important. G. Reinsons informed that a pilot project is planned to be launched together with the State Fire and Rescue Service to promote this cooperation. It is planned to inspect the basements of apartment buildings to develop guidelines for adapting these basements for shelter needs, as well as to provide other types of support to apartment building owners.
Category III shelters are designed to mitigate the impact of blast shockwaves and shrapnel. They can be created in the basements or underground floors of various buildings (e.g., residential building basements, underground parking lots, etc.), as well as in ground floors.
