“It is important for Lithuania that the recommendations would concentrate on macro-economic stability and other areas which are most likely to contribute to the growth of individual Member States and the entire EU. The key challenge is the decreasing number of working age people, which needs to be addressed urgently in order to avoid economic and social problems in the future”, said the Prime Minister, adding that Lithuania would work out an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations.
The Prime Minister noted the importance of the new social model for the reduced social exclusion and actual rise in earnings. Other relevant reforms in capacity building, economic welfare and taxation will follow. These areas have been selected on the basis of Council’s recommendations for Lithuania 2015 and EC Country Report of 26 February.
“In order to respond to the challenges of the aging population and immigration, a strong focus is made on the on the effective use of the existing national human potential. In collaboration with business partners, we are working to develop apprenticeship, we have laid legal framework for the coordination of the monitoring of human resources at the national level, we have also put our efforts in developing a professional qualifications map enabling greater match between university preparation and the needs of the Lithuanian economy”, said the Prime Minister.
It has been noted that in pursuit of the Europe 2020 objectives, Lithuania has made a great effort in promoting incentives in the area of innovations intended for joint business and science projects by initiating pilot pre-commercial purchasing, as well as by implementing activities intended to facilitate and speed up the development of innovative products or services, as well as advancement of innovations. Science, studies and business valleys and technology centres have been operating at full capacity.
The Prime Minister and the Commissioner also discussed challenges faced by the dairy industry. In order to most effectively address the Lithuanian milk producers’ situation, the Government Leader is planning a visit to Brussels on 3 June with a view to discussing this problem with EC President Jean Claude Junker.
The Prime Minister reiterated his request for an earmarked allocation from the EU budget for the producers, also providing for maximum flexibility in its disbursement. It was also asked for a possibility to make use of the crisis reserve, which, although it was designed to deal with emergencies in agricultural markets, have not as yet been used.
On nuclear safety in the region, the Head of Government requested an exclusive attention on behalf of the European Commission for the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction. Commissioner V. P. Andriukaitis pointed out the need for avoiding double standards vis-à-vis Belarus, therefore the European Commission makes every effort to ensure the safety requirements.
