"People who start businesses can do a lot: take risks, create jobs and grow our economy. Last year alone, the total package of support provided by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation amounted to almost €2 billion. It funded measures for growth, transformation and the green economy. But it is clear that large capital projects have often been left behind. So the €1 billion will open up opportunities for the creation and expansion of large-scale projects, while ensuring investment in sustainable business and innovation in Lithuania," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The loans will be made available for projects investing in green technologies, circularity, decarbonisation, energy efficiency, low-carbon, advanced, innovative and digital technologies, as well as in the development of production capacities for high value-added products and in the defence and security industry.

"The Billion for Business Facility will be managed by Invega. Loan applications will be accepted from 29 April and loan agreements will be signed until 30 June 2026.

"We want this facility to have a positive impact on the country's economy, provide financing to different sectors and make it easier for companies to develop their innovative and sustainable projects. We are starting with €1 billion, but the interest accrued and the loan repayments will be reinvested, so we estimate that the total effect should be up to €2 billion. It is also very important that companies operating in the defence and security sector will be able to benefit from this measure, which remains one of the priorities for the coming years," says Inga Beiliūnienė, Member of the Board of INVEGA and Head of Business Development.

Under the new measure, companies will have access to direct or subordinated loans from INVEGA of up to EUR 150 million, while syndicated loans can be financed up to EUR 250 million. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies can apply for loans. The maximum duration of the loans is 15 years, with the possibility of extension up to 20 years.

Other criteria for companies to benefit from the measure include having no links with countries hostile to Lithuania, ensuring that projects do not cause significant damage to the environment, and that the project involves suppliers and/or contractors that are not controlled by third country entities and whose management bodies are based in the EU.

"This is the most important measure of the year and one that we have been working on and waiting for for a long time. In a recession, when all investment is falling and we are seeing stagnation in the industrial sector, this is an opportunity for industry and business as a whole to raise money for much-needed innovation, to get the funds to invest in smarter, more innovative, high value-added jobs. These innovations are now indisputably necessary to reorient our production towards new needs and the global agenda of innovative industry," says Vidmantas Janulevičius, President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists (LCCI).

The measure will be implemented through the Innovation Support Fund. A tripartite agreement will be signed between the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the Ministry of Finance and INVEGA.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

 

‘We must go beyond mere words about the threat of war and take tangible actions to enhance our nation’s security. We are already facilitating the development of large-scale investment projects to meet national security and defence needs. This will attract investors to manufacture weaponry locally, thereby reducing our dependence on arms procured from international markets. This is how we create a more secure Lithuania,’ said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister for Economy and Innovation.

The signed document delineates the mutual obligations and intentions regarding the start of construction activities for the 155 mm ammunition manufacturing facility in Lithuania, and the fulfilment of the prerequisites for its materialization.

‘Freedom must be armed better than tyranny - today these words from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, spoken at the beginning of Russia’s large-scale war, resonate more powerfully than ever. And while we long for a swift victory for Ukraine, we understand perfectly well that Russia will remain the biggest threat to Europe for the foreseeable future. Thus, we must invest not only in proper military preparedness and societal resilience but also in the defence industry. The Rheinmetall ammunition factory is a practical example that we are already doing this. This plant holds significance for Lithuania, Ukraine, and our broader region, and the Government will do everything within its power to ensure that it becomes operational as soon as possible,’ said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

The Prime Minister has thanked the negotiators from both sides who helped reach the agreement.

‘This step is very important for ensuring our national security and defence. The establishment of the Rheinmetall ammunition factory in Lithuania will reduce our reliance on lengthy supply chains, which currently pose significant challenges across the European Union and the world in meeting military demands. It will ensure sustained supply and signify mutual commitment to expanding ammunition reserves and extending support to Ukraine. The development of such infrastructure will not only create extra jobs but also facilitate the transfer of partner expertise and defence industry technology, marking a significant stride towards the continued advancement of the defence industry and the effective response to security challenges. This also represents another significant chapter in strengthening bilateral relations between Lithuania and Germany. As a steadfast ally, we stand poised to forge security guarantees collectively; we are not a mere recipient of such guarantees. Hence, it is a two-way traffic. I am confident that this will strengthen our cooperation, particularly in the context of the stationing of the German brigade in Lithuania,’ said Minister for National Defence, Laurynas Kasčiūnas.

'We at Rheinmetall would like to thank the Lithuanian government for their trust in us and their proactive approach to the project. As a defence industry partner, we are pleased to contribute to national sovereignty in the field of ammunition. The signing of this MoU lays the foundation for a long-term co-operation,' said Maximillian Froch, Director of Strategic Program Organization International at Rheinmetall AG.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

 

“As Lithuania strives for energy independence and pursues the Green Deal goals, offshore wind power is one of the key elements of decarbonisation. Therefore, the Ministry of Energy will update the tender conditions after consultations with market players and will relaunch the tender,” said Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys, commenting on the tender for the development of the second offshore wind farm that ended today.

The tender conditions were enshrined in law as early as 2022, but the situation in the global offshore wind market has changed dramatically and investors face many obstacles: high interest rates, supply chains disrupted after the pandemic, high equipment costs, and reduced interest from banks and foundations in financing projects. This is also reflected in the failure of tenders in other countries and in the withdrawal of some developers with losses from previously planned projects.

According to Mr Kreivys, the change in the investment attractiveness of offshore wind projects is also illustrated by the different conditions of the tenders announced in Lithuania: according to the conditions of the second tender, the developers had to compete for the amount of possible state support, while the first tender was won by the investor offering the highest price.

The Minister of Energy believes that the geopolitical situation in our region may have influenced the investors’ plans.

“The second 700 MW offshore wind farm is a project of strategic importance and absolutely necessary for Lithuania’s energy independence; therefore, after consultations with market players, the tender will be relaunched as soon as possible. During these consultations we need to find out what specific conditions would maximise the attractiveness of the project and increase its resilience to market fluctuations,” said Mr Kreivys.

Lithuania plans to have two offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW. “The planned two offshore wind farms will cover half of Lithuania’s current electricity consumption needs, which will allow the country to become self-sufficient in electricity from local sources and eliminate its dependence on electricity imports. These are the strategic goals of Lithuania, which determine its national security, people’s trust in the state, the price of energy resources for our residents and the international competitiveness of our exporting business,” says Mr Kreivys.

Lithuania plans to source its electricity exclusively from local renewable energy sources by 2030. Renewable energy currently accounts for around 40 per cent of total system demand, mainly from solar and wind.

https://enmin.lrv.lt/

"The purpose of the draft amendment is to efficiently administer all liabilities to the state. Currently, there is no comprehensive database of persons who owe the state, tens of different institutions administer the liabilities to the state, the processes are not digitized, and the debt recovery process is expensive. Our proposed changes will improve the administration of liabilities to the state and, most importantly, will reduce the costs incurred by residents," says Vice-Minister of Finance Rūta Bilkštytė.

The draft amendment implements the reform "One-Stop Shop for Payment of Liabilities to the State" included in the plan "New Generation Lithuania".

The draft amendment to the law approved by the Government proposes that from 1 July 2026 the STI is tasked with fulfilling not only tax liabilities, but also other liabilities to the state, such as administration of fines for administrative offenses, economic monetary sanctions, procedural fines, amounts awarded by the court and fines for criminal acts. The STI will inform about debts, carry out accounting of liabilities to the state, set off tax overpayments, recover from accounts, and only if recovery fails, transfer recovery to bailiffs.

Applying standardized digital procedures would not only reduce the administrative burden, information would reach residents faster and more conveniently, but also the recovery of debts to the state would become much cheaper for residents. Currently, the rates for bailiff services are applied, which for small amounts of debt (up to EUR 60) may exceed the debt itself from 1.8 to 10 times. When debt recovery is carried out by the STI, residents would incur costs of only about EUR 2, which are the maintenance fees of the Cash Restrictions Information System (CRIS).

All debt recovery, including tax, would be carried out by bailiffs, if residents already have any debts that are already being recovered by bailiffs, i.e. the STI would transfer the recovery to the bailiffs in cases where:

• debt recovery from accounts could not be implemented within 6 months;
• a person does not have bank accounts, but has assets or income;
• the bailiff is already conducting debt recovery from a person who has assets or income from which recovery can be carried out.

The draft amendment to the law would ensure that all pecuniary obligations to the state reach the budget as soon as possible. These provisions would significantly improve the administration of liabilities to the state:

• on the one hand, the rights of individuals to be informed about their liabilities to the state, recovery procedures would be ensured, voluntary payment of debts would be encouraged, the financial and administrative burden of those who do not hide from recovery would be reduced,
• on the other hand, the STI, having centralized up-to-date information about liabilities to the state, an effective debtor information system and recovery tools, will be able to use them properly and efficiently, i.e., state competences and technical possibilities for administration of liabilities to the state will be used rationally.

After the Government approves the draft amendment to the Law on Tax Administration, it will be submitted to the Seimas and proposed for adoption under urgent procedure.

https://finmin.lrv.lt/

 

"Last year we launched a €67 million call for potential investors in the polluted districts of Akmenė, Jonava and Mažeikiai. This call attracted a lot of interest, and the amount of funding requested was many times higher than the funds available. We have therefore looked for ways to fund more projects and will use the savings and additional funds to provide additional funding to attract future investment to our country and increase the number of sustainable jobs, creating even more opportunities for Lithuania," said the Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė.

39 project implementation plans were received under this call. Small and medium-sized enterprises were eligible to apply. The maximum amount of funding available per project is EUR 8.5 million.

"As there are more projects to be funded than we can allocate from the amount of the call, we will create a list of reserve projects. We plan to transfer the shortfall from other Equitable Transformation Fund activities where there are unallocated funds. This will allow us to finance companies that invest in production and services, train and upgrade workers and provide on-the-job training," says Iveta Paludnevičiūtė, Chancellor of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation.

Of the €1 billion plan announced last year to strengthen Lithuania's economy, €165.2 million from the Equitable Transformation Fund has been allocated to the industrial transition to a climate-neutral economy, and a further €97.6 million to create sustainable jobs by investing in the creation and development of industrial parks and attracting investors.

The funding will focus on companies in the districts of Akmenė, Jonava and Mažeikiai, which are among the most polluting industrial enterprises in Lithuania and account for a significant share of the value added in the Lithuanian economy. To become less polluting, they need to be transformed, which takes time and investment.

The measure "Attraction of foreign and local investors with high job creation potential in the municipalities of Akmenė, Jonava and Mažeikiai districts" is financed by the Equitable Transformation Fund of the European Union Investment Programme 2021-2027.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

 

These investments to boost innovative public procurement are part of the Ministry's coherent Innovation Reform. It is planned that they will contribute to the implementation of at least 55 innovative public procurements by end-2025.

“Last year alone, Lithuania spent on public procurement more than EUR 8 billion of the state budget funds. These are the funds that could boost innovation. They would be used to buy innovative products and goods, which would encourage business and science to create more and to increase the rate of commercialisation of innovations. When allocating the funding, we therefore aim for innovative procurement to account for at least 5% of all public procurement,” says Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister for Economy and Innovation.

An innovative product or good is the result of innovative activity. It becomes an innovation when introduced into the market, public administration, social or cultural sphere.

The following could be considered as examples of innovative products or goods: a solution for the integration of a smart speech recognition system; a solution for the identification and preventive maintenance of historical building damage; a solution for patient identification and medical data capture; a laser scanning system; an intelligent mental health assistant for relapse prevention; an innovative solution for the assessment of the impact and damage of hydrometeorological phenomena; a satellite data system for urban planning; etc.

Innovative public procurement differs from ordinary public procurement in its nature. The purpose of innovative public procurement is to acquire the products and goods that have become an innovation, whereas the purpose of an ordinary public procurement is to purchase goods, services or works by concluding a public sale and purchase contract.

In order to increase the number of innovative public procurements, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation has already set up the Centre of Excellence for Innovative Public Procurement, which is responsible for providing methodological advisory support to contracting authorities that plan, organise and conduct innovative public procurement. This Centre of Excellence is made up of the Innovation Agency together with the Public Procurement Office.

“The Centre of Excellence for Innovative Public Procurement will develop methodological material for business and contracting authorities, collect and publicise experiences of innovative public procurement, and provide advice to the public sector and to business and science representatives to participate in procurement. This way, contracting authorities will learn about the benefits of innovative public procurement", says Neringa Morozaitė-Rasmussen, Deputy Minister for Economy and Innovation.

The Innovative Public Procurement Facility will be implemented by the Innovation Agency together with project partners – contracting authorities or contracting entities planning to carry out innovative public procurement.

The maximum amount of funding per project partner is EUR 76.09 thousand.

The measure is being implemented under the Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan “Next Generation Lithuania” funded from the European Union's Economic Recovery and Resilience Facility “NextGenerationEU”.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

 

LTG Infra, the company implementing Rail Baltica in Lithuania, and Ardanuy Ingenieria signed a design services contract last week. The task is expected to be completed within 1.5 years. The design will be prepared in the context of the infrastructure development plan for the Kaunas railway node, which was approved by the Government this year.

"With the implementation of the Rail Baltica project, the territory of Kaunas railway station will become a key centre where train connections will be organised both on the broad gauge and the European railway track. This means that passenger flows from both Europe and the other Baltic states will increase significantly. It will undoubtedly become an impulse for both the city itself and Kaunas region to make the most of the opportunities to become a tourist attraction centre," said Mr Vytis Žalimas, CEO of LTG Infra. "The designers are also tasked with designing the station area in such a way that the station's capacity would have room for expansion in the long term and passengers would be able to travel comfortably," he added.

A new bridge over the Nemunas River will be designed to increase train traffic capacity, to be built next to the existing Kaunas Žaliasis Railway Bridge. Ardanuy Ingenieria will also design arrival and departure tracks and platforms adapted to Rail Baltica. The company will also prepare designs for the reconstruction works, including the renewal of the existing pedestrian viaducts over the station and the underground pedestrian crossing for access to the platforms.

Most of the design work will be carried out on the territory of the existing Kaunas station. It is expected that construction works will start as soon as the technical working design of the Kaunas Railway Station and its approaches is ready, and the building permit is obtained.

Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic states. It will see the construction of an electrified, European-standard double-track railway connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pärnu and Tallinn. The total length of the Rail Baltica line in the Baltics is 870 km: 392 km in Lithuania, 265 km in Latvia, and 213 km in Estonia.

www.sumin.lrv.lt

 

The new rules, agreed on by the Parliament and the Council in February, aim to ensure that platform workers have their employment status classified correctly and to correct bogus self-employment. They also regulate, for the first time ever in the EU, the use of algorithmic management and artificial intelligence in the workplace.

The provisional agreement on the Platform Work Directive was adopted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee with 37 votes in favour and 3 against.

Employment status

The new law introduces a presumption of an employment relationship (as opposed to self-employment) that is triggered when facts indicating control and direction are present, according to national law and collective agreements, and taking into account EU-case law.

The directive obliges EU countries to establish a rebuttable legal presumption of employment at national level, aiming to correct the imbalance of power between the platform and the person performing platform work. The burden of proof lies with the platform, meaning that it is up to the platform to prove that there is no employment relationship. When a platform wants to rebut the presumption, it is up to them to prove that the contractual relationship is not an employment relationship.

New rules on algorithmic management

The new rules ensure that a person performing platform work cannot be fired or dismissed based on a decision taken by an algorithm or an automated decision making system. Instead, platforms must ensure human oversight on important decisions that directly affect the persons performing platform work.

Transparency and data protection

The directive introduces rules that protect platform workers’ data more robustly. Platforms will be forbidden from processing certain types of personal data, such as on personal beliefs and private exchanges with colleagues.

Finally, the text improves transparency by obliging platforms to inform workers and their representatives of how their algorithms work and how a worker’s behaviour affects decisions taken by automated systems.

Quote

Rapporteur Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D, IT), said: “I am really proud of what we have achieved: a historic deal that will give platform workers dignity, protection and rights. It will also protect true self-employment, correct and prevent unfair competition, and introduce ground-breaking rules on algorithm management. The lobbying against the directive was extremely intense, but we delivered: Europe protects its citizens, its social model and its economy. Europe is a pioneer in labour law at the international level.”

Next steps

The agreed text will now have to be formally endorsed by the Parliament during the 22-25 April plenary session. It then also needs to be formally adopted by the Council. After its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, member states will have two years to incorporate the provisions of the directive into their national legislation.

Ref.: 20240318IPR19420
www.europarl.europa.eu

 

"Last year we already committed €89 million to 52 projects by public authorities, businesses and municipalities to improve the quality of public services. With this funding, we are building a strong digital foundation for the public sector: we are transforming and digitising government business processes and improving e-services. In the coming years, almost all public services will have to be digitally accessible," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The second call for proposals for the development of digital solutions for the public sector attracted 105 applications worth €100 million. The projects were selected according to a specially adopted evaluation methodology and criteria: relevance and innovation of digital solutions; simplicity, usability, availability and reusability of data; openness and interoperability; and accessibility of services for vulnerable groups.

The 23 approved projects from public authorities and public enterprises include 8 digitisation projects with over €13 million in funding. The group of municipalities includes 15 digitisation projects with up to €8 million in funding.

One of the projects is the development of an information system for the protection of children's rights. This project aims to digitise the services and processes provided by the State Office for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption, reducing bureaucracy and the likelihood of human error. The project will provide real-time access to information about the progress and process of a child rights violation, as well as necessary information about the child and his/her family.

The provision of educational support services for children with special educational needs will be digitised in Vilnius City Municipality. Jonava district municipality, together with Biržai and Kretinga district municipalities, will develop digital solutions using artificial intelligence for the provision of health services. Healthcare institutions in the Alytus region will also implement digital solutions based on artificial intelligence and electronic consent.

In public transport, common e-ticketing and passenger information systems will be developed in Alytus and Šiauliai regions. The municipalities of Šiauliai and Panevėžys will implement digital solutions for efficient asset management. A number of municipalities plan to digitise their cemetery data and create cemetery databases.

The State Data Agency will modernise the services of the official statistics portal and develop new digital solutions for administrative services. The project will contribute to improving the quality of services provided, making statistical and government data more accessible and operational for decision-making.

"Last year, this measure attracted a lot of interest from the public sector, so we will provide an additional €21 million to implement digital solutions to ensure a higher level of digitisation of administrative and public services and their accessibility to the public. With this investment, we are strengthening Lithuania's competitive advantage as one of the most digitised countries in the world by improving services in various areas relevant to both businesses and citizens, making them simpler and easier to use," said Erika Kuročkina, the Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

Funding for public sector digitisation projects will come from the Next Generation Lithuania plan under the Recovery and Resilience Instrument.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

 

After renewal of GSN distribution this year, residents could purchase the eighth issue GSN on 4-18 March. The redemption of this issue will be on 19 March 2025. GSN are distributed via dealers selected by the Ministry of Finance – Swedbank and SEB banks.

During the aforementioned period, Swedbank concluded 136 agreements to purchase GSN in the amount of EUR 2.5 million, while SEB – 50 agreements for EUR 0.8 million.

Preliminary schedule for GSN issue foresees to distribute the ninth issue on 8-22 April to be redeemed on 23 April 2025. The schedule is updated on monthly basis and published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The GSN interest rates are set for each issue individually, taking into account the appropriate term average Government borrowing rate on behalf of the State. GSN interest rates are fixed no later than one working day before the start of placement of savings notes and published together with other GSN issue distribution terms and conditions on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The GSNs are the Government securities to be purchased solely by natural persons. It is a safe investment that generates returns, similar to term deposits with a commercial bank, only in this case the residents would entrust their savings to the Government. In turn, the GSNs is an opportunity for the Government to form one more borrowing instrument – to borrow from residents directly and thus attract the residents’ savings not invested elsewhere.

Anyone willing to purchase GSNs during their emission will be able to do so via the distributors chosen by the Ministry of Finance, Swedbank or SEB, on their online bank with a few clicks of buttons. SEB will make it possible to purchase GSNs in bank branches as well (more information is available here and here).

When the time comes to redeem the GSNs, the investor will not have to do anything – the money for the redeemed GSNs and the interest due will be automatically transferred to the same account from which the payment for the purchased GSNs was made.

www.finmin.lrv.lt