Do you know what does it mean “stipend” in Latvia? It is minimal state support given to rising numbers of unemployed people. It is 100 lats, approx. 140 euro and is given only to people who participate in municipal or state public works. “You cannot survive on that, but at least you have some income,” Latvian sociologist Aigar Freimanis has told me.

Crisis situation deepens even as there are many reports about how world is emerging from crisis. Poor Latvia is one of the examples where there is not even the light at the end tunnel. Coalition government strictly follows the line of IMF and EU and is cutting and cutting in the budget for next year. They do not have any other way. Income tax will be 26 %, wages in public sector cut again, even some of them are already at minimum wage level.

“There is a great level of distrust, only about 25 % of people has trust in prime minister and president,” Mr. Freimanis has told. “But there is one positive news: Latvians got used to crisis situation, they know how to handle it, they have changed their habits and lifestyle. It is not already the issue on which you can rise emotions.”

Well, even after this explanation I would not like to be Latvian nowadays, but I have deep sympathy with nation(s) in Baltic area. They are exposed to the crisis heavily as small and open economies. It is sad that they did not attract too much solidarity from European Union, when, for example last March, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has asked for easing Maastricht criteria which would allow Baltics plus Hungary, the worst affected, to adopt euro and to have some shield.

Strict answer: NO. EU solidarity has shown to be empty slogan during times of crisis. National interests prevail in Europe, which is bad for EU as global entity as well as for localy affected people. Maybe it is too naive to expect helping hand from official friends in bad times.

Eurobarometer, Pew research and Pasos poll, all of them have shown that postivite attitude of Latvians and Hungarians towards EU has diminished significantly.  Longterm consequencies? Extremists and populists will get into parliaments of both, Latvia and Hungary, which have elections planned next year.And as it was proven by the election of two unknown politicians (one of them probably with communist past) into the two most important EU jobs, I wonder if our president Vaclav Klaus was not right about Lisbon treaty and all EU mess.