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Lithuania’s Next Step: The European Union

This is an excerpt from the official "Report from the European Commission on Progress of Lithuania towards Accession Into the European Union" as presented to the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania.

In Agenda 2000, the European Commission said it would report regularly to the European Council on progress made by each of the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe in preparations for European Union (EU) membership and that it would submit its first report at the end of 1998. The European Council in Luxembourg decided in their formal Opinion that…

"From the end of 1998, the Commission will make regular reports to the Council, together with any necessary recommendations for opening bilateral intergovernmental conferences, reviewing the progress of each Central and East European applicant State towards accession in the light of the Copenhagen criteria, in particular the rate at which it is adopting the Union acquis.

Prior to those reports, implementation of the accession partnerships and progress in adopting the acquis will be examined with each applicant State in the Europe Agreement bodies. The Commission's reports will serve as a basis for taking, in the Council context, the necessary decisions on the conduct of the accession negotiations or their extension to other applicants.

In that context, the Commission will continue to follow the method adopted by Agenda 2000 in evaluating applicant States' ability to meet the economic criteria and fulfill the obligations deriving from accession.

A dynamic approach should be maintained in assessing the progress made by applicant States in the regular reports which the Commission will submit to the Council."

The European Council in Cardiff supported those conclusions, stating that "The Union’s priority is to maintain the enlargement process for the countries covered in the Luxembourg European Council conclusions, within which they can actively pursue their candidatures and make progress towards taking on the obligations of membership, including the Copenhagen criteria. Each of these candidate countries will be judged on the basis of the same criteria and will proceed in its candidature at its own rate, depending on its degree of preparedness. Much will depend on the efforts made by the candidate countries themselves to meet the criteria. All will benefit from strengthened relations with the EU including through political dialogue and tailored strategies to help them prepared for accession."

In accordance with the guidance provided by these Council Conclusions, the progress report on Lithuania follows the same structure as the above Opinion. It…

  • describes the relations between Lithuania and the Union, particularly in the framework of the Europe Agreement;
  • analyzes the situation in respect of the political conditions set by the European Council (democracy, rule of law, human rights, protection of minorities);
  • assesses Lithuania’s situation and prospects in respect to the economic conditions mentioned by the European Council (functioning market economy, and its capacity to cope with competitive pressures and market forces within the Union);
  • and, addresses the question of Lithuania’s capacity to adopt the obligations of membership; that is, the acquis of the Union as expressed in the Treaty, the secondary legislation, and the policies of the Union.

It also covers judicial and administrative capacity as requested by the Madrid European Council which underlined the necessity for the candidate countries to adapt their administrative structures so as to guarantee the harmonious implementation of European Community policies after membership.

This approach ensures equal treatment for all the candidate countries. The report takes into consideration progress since the Opinion. It looks at whether intended reforms referred to in the Opinion have been carried out and examines new initiatives, including those directly related to addressing Accession Partnership priorities. The report contains a separate section, which examines the extent to which Lithuania has addressed the short-term priorities set out in the Accession Partnerships.

While the assessment of progress in meeting the political and acquis criteria focuses on that which has been accomplished since the Opinion, the economic assessment is based on a longer term evaluation of Lithuania’s economic performance. The assessment of progress made in adopting the acquis has been made on the basis of adopted legislation rather than legislation, which is in various stages of either preparation or Parliamentary approval. Only in this manner was it possible to objectively measure and compare concrete progress in preparation for accession.

The report draws on numerous sources of information. The candidate countries were invited to provide information on progress made in preparations for membership since the publication of the Opinion. Their presentations at the meetings held under the auspices of the Europe Agreement, their National Programmes for the Adoption of the Acquis and the information provided in the context of the analytical examination of the acquis provided were additional sources of information.

Council deliberations on the Opinion, the reports, and resolutions of the European Parliament on the Commission Opinions [European Parliament Doc. 224.339 ‘Report on the Communication from the Commission Agenda 2000’ (Reporters: A. Oostlander and E. Baron Crespo; Co-reporters: M. Aelvoet, J. Donner, O. Von Habsburg, E. Caccavale, F. Kristoffersen, M. Hoff, C. Carnero Gonzales, P. Bernard-Raymond, R. Speciale, J. Wiersma, J.W. Bertens)], and in particular, the report on the application of Lithuania for accession to the EU prepared by Mr. Kristoffersen were taken into account in the preparation of the reports.

The Commission also used assessments made by the Member States, particularly with respect to the political criteria for membership and the work of various international organizations. In particular the contributions of the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the IFIs, as well as that of non-governmental organizations were considered in preparation of the regular reports.

 

Recent developments in bilateral relations

The Europe Agreement between the European Union and Lithuania entered into force on 1 February 1998 following the completion of the ratification procedures. Lithuania has implemented the Europe Agreement correctly and contributed to the smooth functioning of the various joint institutions.

The first meetings of the Association Council and the Association Committee were held in February and June 1998 respectively. The June 1998 meeting was the first to discuss the implementation of the Accession Partnership priorities. Since the entry into force of the Europe Agreement, seven sub-committee meetings have taken place. Since the issuing of the Opinion the Joint Parliamentary Committee comprising representatives of the Lithuanian and European Parliament met twice, in January and in September 1998.

Lithuania’s trade with the EU has continued to increase its share of total trade. During the first five months of 1998 Lithuanian exports to the EU accounted for 33% of total exports (Germany 12%, UK 3.6% and Denmark 3.3%). Imports from the EU amounted to 44% (Germany 16.9%, Italy 3.8% and Denmark 3.7%).

Under the Europe Agreement, an adaptation protocol covering in particular non-processed agricultural and processed agricultural products, has been signed to take into account the results of the Uruguay Round and the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the EU. There are no major trade problems in the relations between Lithuania and the EU. A new protocol to the Europe Agreement providing for the liberalization of trade in textiles was initialed. Pending its formal conclusion, it has been applied provisionally since 1 January 1998.

The 1998 Phare programme consists of a national allocation (32 MECU), based on the Accession Partnership priorities, to support in particular administrative capacity reinforcement, environment, transport, energy, as well as the participation in Community programmes and Tempus. An additional 4 MECU have been allocated for a cross-border co-operation programme.

In addition, funding will be provided under the Catch-up Facility [Special EU financial assistance given to Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania for projects aimed at accelerating EU accession preparations in certain areas.], for projects in financial sector reform, anti-corruption measures.

Lithuania also participates in and benefits from Phare funded multi-country and horizontal programmes such as customs, environment, statistics, public administration reform and TAIEX.

 

Accession Partnerships and National Programmes for the Adoption of the Acquis: Global Assessment of Implementation

The purpose of the Accession Partnership is to set out, in a single framework, the priority areas for further work identified in the Commission’s Opinions; the financial means available to help the candidate countries implement these priorities; and the conditions which will apply to that assistance. Each candidate country was invited to adopt a National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis setting out how it would deal with the Accession partnership, the timetable for implementing its priorities and outlining human and financial resources implications. Both the Accession Partnerships and the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis will be revised regularly to take account of progress made and to allow for new priorities to be set.

 

Assessment of Short- Term Priorities

The short-term priorities in the Accession Partnership are the following:

  • Economic reform: establishment of medium-term economic policy priorities and joint assessment within the framework of the Europe Agreement; acceleration of large-scale privatization and progress towards the restructuring of the banking, energy and agri-food sectors, and enforcement of financial discipline for enterprises.
  • Reinforcement of institutional and administrative capacity: in particular major efforts on public administration reform, border control, customs, taxation and finance, as well as preparation of training strategy for civil servants and the judiciary, veterinary and phytosanitary administrations (particularly regarding facilities at the external borders), institutional strengthening in the area of environment, and setting up structures needed for regional and structural policy.
  • Internal market: including further alignment in the areas of intellectual and industrial property, public procurement, financial services, phytosanitary and veterinary administration, and upgrading of independent standardization and conformity assessment structures. Adoption of new competition law and establishment of transparent State aid inventory.
  • Justice and home affairs: in particular further efforts to implement measures to combat corruption and organized crime and improve border management in facilities for refugee reception.
  • Environment: continue transposition of framework legislation, establishment and commencement of implementation of detailed approximation programmes and implementation strategies related to individual acts. Planning and commencement of implementation of these programmes and strategies.
  • Energy: in particular establishing a comprehensive, long-term, energy strategy and decommissioning plan for the nuclear power plant Ignalina according to commitments entered into in the Nuclear Safety Account Agreement.

 

Progress concerning the short term priorities of the Accession Partnership can be summarized as follows:

  • Economic reform: Lithuania has not yet established a medium term economic strategy. It has progressed as regards the large-scale privatization, the restructuring of the banking sector and the enforcement of the financial discipline for enterprises. However, major efforts are still needed in the restructuring of the energy and agri-food sector.
  • Reinforcement of institutional and administrative capacity: While a number of institutions have been established or reorganized during 1997-1998, their capacity to implement relevant legislation is untested. Some progress has been made as regards the preparation of the training strategy for the judiciary. However, hardly any progress has been made in setting up regional development policies and institutions, and strengthening financial control institution.
  • Internal market: Lithuania has made progress in the field of financial services, standardization and conformity assessment structures and, to a less extent, as regards competition policy. However, efforts have to be taken especially in the field of public procurement, phyto-sanitary and veterinary administration, intellectual property, and state aid.
  • Justice and home affairs: Lithuania has taken measures to combat corruption and organized crime. However, these efforts must be strengthened. There is still a need to improve border management.
  • Environment: Lithuania has made good progress in this field, in particular regarding legal transposition.
  • Energy: Limited progress has taken place in this area. The presentation of a satisfactory energy strategy is still outstanding.

Lithuania has taken steps to address some of the Accession Partnership short-term priorities in the area of financial services, standards, and certification and the environment. However, Lithuania has not satisfactorily addressed the short-term priorities in the areas of energy (establishment of the energy strategy); economic reform (establishment of a medium term economic programme); administrative capacity (especially public administration reform); internal market (public procurement, intellectual property, state aids) and JHA (improvement of border management).

Recently, Chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament (the Seimas), Vytautas Landsbergis, delivered a speech at the meeting of the Speakers of the EU countries' Parliaments in Sofia, Bulgaria during the last week if April, 1999. In his speech Landsbergis stressed that Lithuania, an EU membership aspirant, already meets the Copenhagen membership requirements of 1997.

"We have good relations with our neighbors; we have long ago solved the issues of national minorities; and signed border agreements with our neighbors", said Chairman of the Seimas. He noted the stability of democratic processes in Lithuania, and expressed his conviction that rapid and successful development of economy allowed Lithuania to successfully withstand the crisis in Russia.

The Ambassadors of the EU member states and the EC were acquainted with the updated information on the progress in the first quarter of this year in implementing the priority measures plan by Lithuania in preparation for the European Union membership.

Petras Austrevicius, Director General of the European Committee under Lithuanian Government, also presented to the Ambassadors the most recent information on Lithuania’s progress and introduced programs currently being carried out in legal system reform, internal affairs and strengthening border control.