Republic of Latvia Cabinet Instruction No. 2 Adopted 3 March 2015

On the Provision of Host Nation Support

Issued pursuant to
Section 72, Paragraph one, Clause 2
of the State Administration Structure Law

1. This Instruction prescribes:

1.1. the authority responsible for planning and ensuring the host nation support (hereinafter - the competent authority);

1.2. the authorities involved in the provision of host nation support, their tasks and responsibilities;

1.3. the key planning, financing and management issues related to the provision of host nation support.

2. For the purpose of this Instruction the host nation support shall mean the civil-military assistance in peacetime, in circumstances of danger to the State or a military invasion provided by Latvia as a host nation within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (hereinafter - NATO) to allied forces, also to the organisations of NATO and the European Union located on, operating in or transiting through the territory of Latvia as the host nation.

3. The competent authority responsible for the planning and provision of the host nation support shall be the Ministry of Defence.

4. The Ministry of Defence shall:

4.1. implement the planning and provision of the host nation support;

4.2. ensure the harmonization of the support mechanism of the host nation with other crisis management mechanisms and plans;

4.3. organize meetings of the host nation support planning team (hereinafter - the planning team);

4.4. in peacetime organize and implement training activities related to the host nation support, in order to prepare for international military operations, including the reception, deployment and onward movement of the allied forces through the territory of Latvia;

4.5. co-ordinate the host nation support planning process in collaboration with the National Armed Forces (hereinafter - the NAF) and, if necessary, the representatives of other ministries, local governments and private institutions;

4.6. in collaboration with other ministries, develop the necessary draft laws and regulations to ensure the compatibility of the armed forces of the sending nation with those of the host nation;

4.7. on behalf of the Cabinet and in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance, prepare an international agreement with the sending nation or NATO on the reimbursement of the host nation support expenses from the national, shared or common funding;

4.8. plan and calculate budgetary resources necessary for fulfilling the host nation support functions, and submit budgetary requests to the Ministry of Finance in conformity with the law On Budget and Financial Management.

5. The following bodies are involved in the provision of host nation support within the scope of their competence:

5.1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

5.2. Ministry of Economics;

5.3. Ministry of the Interior;

5.4. Ministry of Transport;

5.5. Ministry of Justice;

5.6. Ministry of Health;

5.7. Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development;

5.8. Ministry of Agriculture;

5.9. Latvian Geospatial Information Agency;

5.10. Agricultural Data Centre;

5.11. National Armed Forces;

5.12. State Emergency Medical Service;

5.13. Provision State Agency;

5.14. Food and Veterinary Service;

5.15. State Agency "Civil Aviation Agency";

5.16. State Centre for Defence Military Objects and Procurement;

5.17. State Revenue Service;

5.18. State Forest Service;

5.19. State Police;

5.20. State Border Guard;

5.21. State Technical Supervision Agency;

5.22. State Fire and Rescue Service;

5.23. State Environmental Service;

5.24. State Land Service.

6. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall:

6.1. provide support to the Ministry of Defence in order to ensure the co-ordination of the international co-operation between Latvia, international organizations and allied states;

6.2. provide support to the Ministry of Defence in external communication by means of the network of diplomatic missions;

6.3. within the scope of its competence, provide support and consultations in consular matters.

7. The Ministry of Economics shall:

7.1. co-ordinate efficient and economic use of energy resources;

7.2. upon a request of the Ministry of Defence, collect information on the available resources;

7.3. gather and collect information on energy production in the civil sector, construction and entrepreneurship, as well as evaluate resource storage possibilities.

8. The Ministry of the Interior shall co-ordinate the use of civil resources for the fulfilment of tasks related to the civil protection;

9. The Ministry of Transport shall:

9.1. upon a request of the Ministry of Defence, provide information on the infrastructure being under its supervision (roads, overpasses, bridges, railroads, aerodromes, ports);

9.2. ensure the use of the necessary infrastructure (roads, overpasses, bridges, railroads, aerodromes, ports);

9.3. provide support in transport-related matters (transportation by air, sea and land);

9.4. upon a request of the planning team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior or its mandated official, ensure the use of the existing State material reserves for the fulfilment of the tasks related to the civil protection. The responsibility for the fulfilment of the aforementioned task shall lie with the responsible keeper of State material reserves of the Ministry of Transport.

10. The Ministry of Justice shall, upon a request of the planning team, evaluate and harmonize the laws and regulations of Latvia.

11. The Ministry of Health shall co-ordinate the planning of medical resources of Latvia necessary for the provision of the host nation medical support.

12. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development shall:

12.1. co-ordinate the implementation of the policy of the environmental protection;

12.2. co-ordinate and harmonize the activities of the local governments, and also upon a request of the Ministry of Defence collect information on the resources available to local governments.

13. The Ministry of Agriculture shall:

13.1. gather and collect information on the production of food industry raw materials in the civil sector;

13.2. plan and monitor the activities of the subordinate bodies related to the provision of the host nation support;

13.3. upon a request of the support team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior or its mandated official, ensure the utilization of State material reserves in order to fulfil the tasks related to the civil protection. The responsibility for the fulfilment of the aforementioned task shall lie with the responsible keeper of State material reserves of the Ministry of Agriculture.

14. Latvian Geospatial Information Agency shall:

14.1. upon a request of the NAF Joint Headquarters, provide information on agency's capacity regarding the elaboration and topographical reproduction of maps and geoinformation products;

14.2. upon a request of the Ministry of Defence, ensure the drawing up and topographical reproduction of the necessary maps and geoinformation products according to the calculations performed by the NAF;

14.3. ensure the delivery of the necessary maps and geoinformation products to the NAF Joint Headquarters thus allowing for the strategic, operational and tactical planning;

14.4. in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the NAF Joint Headquarters, develop, co-ordinate and undertake additional measures to provide maps and geoinformation products.

15. The Agricultural Data Centre shall provide information on the most important dairy and meat primary production enterprises.

16. The National Armed Forces shall:

16.1. in accordance with the requirements of NATO, develop a detailed host nation support plan and incorporate it in the relevant operational plan;

16.2. in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, establish a co-ordination centre in order to support the activities of the planning team and ensure the operational planning of host nation support;

16.3. carry out a detailed research on the strategic points, in order to identify the resources, equipment and infrastructure necessary for the deployment of the armed forces of the sending nation;

16.4. elaborate the main and alternative transport route schemes and identify the necessary transport resources in order to ensure the movement;

16.5. plan the availability of all kind of services and resources necessary for the armed forces of the sending nation;

16.6. provide communication and information technology equipment in accordance with the training or mission requirements by co-operating with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Transport, if necessary.

17. The State Emergency Medical Service shall:

17.1. upon a request of the planning team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior or its mandated official, ensure the use of the material reserves comprised of medical equipment and medicinal products;

17.2. provide emergency medical care.

18. The Provision State Agency shall:

18.1. upon a request of the planning team, provide information on the disposition and the responsible keepers of State material reserves;

18.2. upon a request of the planning team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior or its mandated official, ensure the use of existing State material reserves for the fulfilment of the tasks related to the civil protection.

19. The Food and Veterinary Service shall:

19.1. respond to particularly dangerous infectious animal disease outbreaks and undertake the appropriate measures for their elimination;

19.2. carry out veterinary control, control of food safety and safety of non-food products, and phytosanitary control of live animals, goods and products on the borders of Latvia, namely, roads, ports, railways, post offices, airports and customs warehouses.

20. The State Agency "Civil Aviation Agency" shall control the compliance with aircraft flight and civil aviation safety requirements in the field of civil aviation and grant permissions related to the establishment of new airspace structure elements or changes in airspace use during the military training;

21. The State Centre for Defence Military Objects and Procurement shall:

21.1. upon a request of the Ministry of Defence, ensure the use of the immovable property in possession of the Ministry and managed by the Centre for military operations and training purposes;

21.2. ensure the implementation of procurement procedures as required by the Ministry of Defence and the NAF;

21.3. carry out the co-ordination of construction works.

22. The State Revenue Service shall:

22.1. participate in the elaboration of relevant documents on customs clearance and requirements applicable to the allied forces and their military and non-military cargoes;

22.2. provide customs clearance of the military and non-military cargoes of the allied forces in a most prompt and efficient manner.

23. The State Forest Service shall provide to the Ministry of Defence information on forest infrastructure, possibilities of the construction of infrastructure facilities and water supply points.

24. The State Police shall:

24.1. provide support related to the onward movement in or transition through the territory of Latvia by the allied forces;

24.2. in collaboration with the NAF Military Police, ensure the surveillance of the armed forces of the sending nation and, in conformity with the prescribed procedure and to the extent necessary, apply the laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia and international agreements binding in case of offences committed in the territory of Latvia;

24.3. provide support necessary for maintaining safety in the particular area;

24.4. plan and go on special missions;

24.5. upon a request of the planning team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior or its mandated official, ensure the use of the existing State material reserves for the fulfilment of the tasks related to the civil protection.

25. The State Border Guard shall:

25.1. provide border checks of the sending nation's armed forces and their members within the regulatory framework regarding the status of the foreign armed forces;

25.2. enable the crossing border by the armed forces of the sending nation out of turn, if necessary;

25.3. on the initiative of the planning team, provide other kind of support within the scope of its competence, if necessary.

26. The State Technical Supervision Agency shall provide to the Ministry of Defence information on registered tractor machinery (including the bulldozers, excavators, forwarders, harvesters).

27. The State Fire and Rescue Service shall:

27.1. provide information on resources available for the fire-fighting and rescue works, as well as highly dangerous facilities;

27.2. upon a request of the planning team, provide information on the resources in the State material reserves and their utilization scheme;

27.3. upon a request of the planning team and subject to the permission granted by the Minister of the Interior (if necessary), ensure the use of the existing State material reserves for the fulfilment of the tasks related to the civil protection.

28. The State Environmental Service shall:

28.1. provide the environmental information at its disposal;

28.2. provide prompt out-of-order issuance of permissions (licences), technical regulations and other administrative acts stipulated in the laws and regulations governing the field of environmental protection and radiation safety, and nuclear safety necessary for the use of natural resources and performance of polluting activities by the military units of the foreign armed forces;

28.3. monitor the compliance with the provisions stipulated in the laws and regulations regarding the extraction and utilization of natural resources, environmental protection, emission of polluting substances in the environment, hazardous and municipal waste management, packaging waste management, and chemical substances, and mixtures;

28.4. in collaboration with the NAF, co-ordinate the prevention of environmental pollution accidents, radioactive pollution and its consequences.

29. The State Land Service in conformity with the laws and regulations governing its operation shall provide:

29.1. data contained in the Information System of the Immovable Property State Cadastre;

29.2. data contained in the State Address Register Information System;

29.3. large-scale topographic information and central databases.

30. The main planning and management issues concerning the provision of the host nation support are as follows:

30.1. planning of civil and military resources for the host nation support purposes;

30.2. elaboration of the necessary legal acts based on the identified host nation support responsibilities and tasks;

30.3. development of proposals, changes or supplements to the provisions of international agreements regarding the host nation support;

30.4. participation in negotiations with the commanders, Member States and partner countries of NATO concerning the issues of host nation support provision;

30.5. elaboration of reviews and identification of deficiencies related to the provision and implementation of the host nation support;

30.6. reporting to the Crisis Management Council and other bodies related to the co-ordination and crisis management, if necessary.

31. In order to deal with specific issues concerning the host nation support, the Ministry of Defence may establish a host nation support work team consisting of the representatives of all or some of the bodies referred to in Paragraph 5 of this Instruction.

32. The representatives of the bodies referred to in Paragraph 5 of this Instruction which have been delegated to participate in the host nation support planning and management must hold a Personnel Security Clearance Certificate at the level of NATO SECRET.

33. The Crisis Management Council shall promote co-ordinated actions of State and local government institutions in the performance of prevention and overcoming of danger to the State and relief efforts in accordance with its by-laws.

34. Upon a request of the Ministry of Defence, all authorities involved in the provision of the host nation support shall be obliged to delegate their representatives for participation in the host nation support training.

35. The public budget authorities involved in the provision of the host nation support shall fulfil their responsibilities and tasks relating to the host nation support in accordance with the allocated financial resources.

Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma

Minister for Defence Raimonds Vējonis

 

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Translation © 2017 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)