The Latvian government led by Prime Minister Indulis Emsis resigned Thursday after the parliament rejected its draft 2005 budget.

The draft budget was turned down by a vote of 39-53 with five abstentions.

Emsis, who is on a visit to Rome, declined to make comments on the government's resignation, while his press secretary Ilona Lice said that the prime minister will continue his work till a new government is set up.

Emsis' minority coalition government, made up of his Greens and Farmers, the People's Party and Latvia's First Party, was approved by the parliament on March 9.

Since coming into power, the government has for several times faced the danger of stepping down.

On Sept. 16, 2004, the Popular Accord Party, disagreeing with the government's reforms on education, asked the parliament to hold a confidence vote on the government, a petition rejected by legislators.

Latvia, a small Baltic republic with a population of 2.3 million, became a member of the European Union on May 1, 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2004)