Two-thirds (66%) of Latvian residents surveyed consider European Union (EU) fund investments in Latvia to be successful overall, according to the latest study conducted by the market and social research agency Latvijas Fakti on residents' awareness and understanding of EU funds in 2025. Compared to previous years, there has been a slight but steady increase – in 2024, 65% of respondents rated EU fund investments as successful, compared to 62% in 2023.
The survey data confirm that public awareness of EU funds in Latvia is high and stable – almost all respondents (94%) are aware that EU funds are available to Latvia, and this figure has remained above 90% since 2010.
Three quarters (74%) of survey participants believe that EU fund investments have a positive impact on Latvia's economic and social development. This assessment has remained at a similar level over the past two years. In terms of regions, a more positive assessment of the impact of EU funds can be observed in Latgale, where 88% of respondents agree with this statement, while in Riga (75%) this indicator is lower, which indicates the visibility and importance of fund investments in regional development. The survey data also show that a more positive view of EU fund investments is more common among residents who are not generally negative about the situation in the country and in their own lives – in this group of respondents, the positive assessment of the impact of EU funds (89%) reaches a particularly high level.
“The fact that two-thirds of respondents consistently rate EU fund investments in Latvia as successful confirms that the investments are targeted and understandable to the public. At the same time, the results of the study provide feedback that allows investments to be targeted even more precisely, especially when starting work on planning for the new 2028-2034 period. It also provides an impetus to strengthen communication about the benefits that Latvian residents can already enjoy from EU fund investments in the 2021-2027 period, which will become even more widespread and visible in the coming years, such as the development of entrepreneurship and innovation, improving the energy efficiency of housing, the development of environmentally friendly mobility, and many other areas," says Armands Eberhards, Deputy State Secretary for EU Funds.
The public's awareness of EU fund investments is not just general – two-thirds (67%) of respondents had heard of at least one specific project implemented with EU fund support in 2025. Compared to the previous two years, this indicator has remained stable – in 2024 it was 66%, and in 2023 – 69%. Over a longer period of time, the most recognizable projects continue to be road and transport system improvement projects, followed in 2025 by agriculture and rural development under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, restoration of cultural and historical sites, environmental improvement and tourism, as well as the modernization of social infrastructure – health, social care, and educational institutions.
At the same time, more than half of respondents acknowledge that they have experienced the benefits of EU fund investments in their daily lives, for example, in the form of improved infrastructure or public services, which shows that the results of EU fund projects are not only known to the public, but also experienced in practice.
The most important sources of information on the use of EU funds in Latvia continue to be national television (50%), social media accounts of the responsible institutions (37%) and radio (32%). Meanwhile, residents who actively sought information about EU fund opportunities most often used the website www.esfondi.lv as their main source of information.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will evaluate and take into account the suggestions made by respondents to the public opinion poll on improving the implementation of EU funds. It has already been reported that the MoF, together with the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA), is continuing its work to reduce the administrative burden in project implementation. A strategically important task for 2026 is to strengthen the CFCA's role as a customer-oriented and supportive cooperation partner for project implementers. This means greater support and trust for project applicants and funding recipients, more extensive consultation activities, and an individual approach to resolving unclear situations.
At the same time, the public is invited to continue submitting proposals for reducing bureaucracy in the section "Reducing Bureaucracy" on the MoF website, which also provides information on what has been achieved so far in simplifying EU funds.
The public opinion survey was commissioned by the MoF and conducted in 2025 by the market and social research agency "Latvijas Fakti", which surveyed 1,000 permanent residents of Latvia aged 18 to 74 throughout Latvia.