In his speech at the opening of the Ministry of the Interior’s Industry Day 2025 on Thursday, 10 April, Kozlovskis pointed to the improvement of the civil protection system, including the need for a system of shelters. He stressed that Latvia had once made a mistake by refusing to set up such a system. Given that it is not possible to set up shelters adapted to buildings in one day, he pointed to mobile shelters as one solution.

After his opening speech, Kozlovskis told LETA that there were places in Latvia where such a solution might be needed, for example, near institutions. However, the minister did not elaborate further on the capacity and costs of mobile shelters available on the market.

At the same time, he pointed out that the establishment of shelters is a complex solution and that European Union funding could be attracted for the establishment of such mobile shelters.

At the Ministry of the Interior Industry Day, a prototype of a mobile reinforced concrete shelter was presented by the construction and production holding company UPB. The company’s representatives told LETA that active design work started a year ago, and the company already has experience in deploying concrete barriers, such as “dragon’s teeth”, at state borders.

Such shelters could be quickly delivered and assembled in a few hours at the required location. Not only could they shelter casual passers-by, but they could also accommodate, for example, a medical post or a warehouse, the company said.

In mid-March, the Parliament approved in first reading amendments to the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Law, which make the construction of shelters compulsory for certain groups of buildings, as well as a framework for the establishment, adaptation and use of shelters in the event of war or disaster.

Currently, there is no Latvian legislation in force regulating the establishment, adaptation and use of shelters in the event of military conflict or disaster.

The draft law prepared by the Ministry of the Interior provides that shelters are divided into three categories

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