RIGA, Dec 9 (LETA) - Saeima today in the final reading adopted amendments to the law on administrative territories, providing that state cities Daugavpils, Jelgava, Liepaja, Rezekne and Ventspils are merged with the adjoining municipalities in 2029.

In the second reading the plan was to merge the cities with the adjoining territories in 2015, but now it has been moved to 2020.

The Constitutional Court this year lifted a number of Saeima decisions on formation of the new municipalities in a merger, underscoring that politicians in the new territories had not planned development centers. In order to deal with the problem, cooperation between the cities and the adjoining territories should be promoted, leading to a merger in seven years.