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Honourable guests,
Dear members of the international business community,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to take up this opportunity to present our views and the "European" picture of Lithuania to the representatives of the international business community. The Roundtable is a good occasion to overview the steps Lithuania is taking in becoming an inseparable part of a strong, prosperous, safe and united Europe. Lithuanians - like every nation on the continent - wish that Europe becomes our common home in many ways and that it is hospitable and cosy to live in. This can be seen from the main perspective - the conditions on which newcomers are welcomed to the enlarged European Union. These conditions should be known by the end of next year when the accession negotiations are concluded with a number of candidate countries, including my own. I am deeply convinced that closer integration is the only way to bridge European countries. However, we all know that sustainable growth of economy as well as development depend on stability. It is the stability that gives guarantees to businesses and if politics were to influence investments, it must be positive influence. Nothing is a better guarantee to stability than a membership in a club bound by the rules that have proven to be the best for building democratic and free societies. I believe that the enlargement of the EU will benefit the new members as well as the current EU member- states in a range of ways, even in a short term:- enlargement will lead to the growth of GDP throughout the enlarged Union,- the enormous increase in exports to the actual candidate countries already secures many jobs in the current EU member states,- adoption of the EU standards will make it easier for the new members of the EU to combat illegal immigration and organised crime,- all the Europeans will be able to operate and do business in Malta, Hungary or Lithuania in accordance with the EU rules. If that is to become real in the coming years, the formula of success of the European integration must be used again. This formula rests on the extent to which the EU's founding principle of solidarity is applied to the enlarged European Union. The cohesion and structural policies helped Ireland, Spain and Portugal to perform the miracles of growth. These scenarios can be repeated on a larger scale in the East. It will be a costly project at the start but it promises a big reward in the future. Unification and cohesion will require wise generosity from the current member-states and responsibility from the future members. The solidarity must be genuine. There must be no different regional policies - one, more generous, for the old member states and another for the new ones. The same goes for the Common Agriculture Policy - it should be the same for everyone. The worst what could happen is Europe fractured into pieces. This may be so if the EU has two different standards, two policies, two governments, and two budgets. It would go even against semantic meaning of the Union. The word "Union" means "One" - One for All. Now, all of these conditions for the success of the enlargement of the EU that I have set out do not mean a one-way exercise where the EU gives and new members take. I have already mentioned a few points outlining how the enlarged EU would benefit the current members. The candidates like Lithuania are bringing their contribution to the EU as well. We are bringing the experience of transferring, in just a decade, from a suppressed command economy to a stable and effective democracy. We are bringing examples of good neighbourly relations. We are bringing a genuine believe and strenuous effort to build regional security and stability. A few examples may be in order. Our participation in the peacekeeping operations since 1994 has already embodied our contribution to the stability. Lithuania has also aligned itself with other European countries in response to the US-lead coalition against the terrorist attacks. From another domain, I would like to mention that we have created a strategic partnership with Poland. As a former ambassador in Warsaw I witnessed a profound change in relations between the two countries from ages-old mistrust to an absolute trust and co-operation. With other two Baltic States - Latvia and Estonia - we have achieved an unprecedented level of trilateral co-operation which, by its depth, can be compared to the Nordic co-operation. Without any intention of being didactic, I mean to say that relations between states in our region can serve as a good example to other regions, including those in Europe and the Balkans in particular. Lithuania has declared sharing of such experience a priority during our chairmanship in the Council of Europe that will last until next May. Our region has another huge advantage and that is our neighbourhood with Russia. The future of Europe is incomprehensible without the involvement and participation of Russia. Our interests are specifically focussed on our close neighbourhood with Russia in Kaliningrad. This region is blessed with enormous potential but has never benefited from it. The European integration offers - for the first time in the history - a chance to make the region a hub of growth and not of instability. Lithuania [together with Germany] is the largest investor in Kaliningrad but it cannot satisfy the need of investment in the region of a magnitude that would make a profound change for the residents of Kaliningrad. I am convinced that the region will greatly benefit from positive spillover when Lithuania and Poland become members of the European Union. Such a development would pay back to the EU with great opportunities that will open for co-operation with Russia in a number of strategic fields. We also have a more than 600 kilometres long common border with Belarus that will be the external border of the European Union and Lithuania assumes full responsibility for it. However, everything must be done to avoid this border becoming a new dividing line in Europe. [It could be too ugly a scar on Europe's face that might take decades to heal.] The European integration is a dynamic and challenging process both externally and on the domestic policy front. It goes in parallel with reforms. Decisions to be taken and issues to be solved on the way to the European Union require enormous political courage and managing skill. We have been successful so far. Lithuania has caught up with the advanced candidates and is a strong aspirant for the first accession group to join the EU. This conclusion is shared by the European Commission in its Strategy Paper and the Regular Report on Lithuania's progress towards accession published two days ago. In fact, we consider the Report and the conclusions of the Strategy paper as objective, comprehensive and useful. They present a realistic picture of Lithuania's achievements and shortcomings. The acknowledgement of Lithuania's achievements is well-deserved. Lithuania is also fully aware of the shortcomings identified by the Commission. The Government of Lithuania admits them and is intensively working to remove them. The Programme of the Lithuanian Government and the Action Plan for its implementation reflect the objectives identified by the Commission. They are of top priority. As for "catching up" - it is not just a number of chapters closed in the accession negotiations. It also reveals the economic achievements. The economic picture of Lithuania is rather bright: privatisation in Lithuania is nearly over; about 70 per cent of GDP are now generated by the private sector and this share will continue to grow. The structure of the Lithuanian economy has become similar to that of the EU member states: the services account for 60 per cent of GDP, the industry - for a quarter of GDP, the agriculture - for 7.5 per cent. GDP is rising 4-5 per cent annually - which is twice as much as the EU average. There is, however, a price to pay for these achievements. Unemployment has risen to nearly a double average in the EU. Tight budgetary policies restricted spending on social needs. Not surprisingly, sectors of social protection, health care, education are the most sensitive to reforms. In order to balance economic and social reforms, the Lithuanian Government has undertaken steps and adopted programming documents. Based on the spirit of European social model these measures aim at the alleviation of social impact that accompanies the market economy. However challenging is the process, Lithuania and other candidate countries are not seeking membership in European and Trans-Atlantic structures with a single aim of solving their own problems. What is true and what will be proven once again in good time is that together with the Western countries, the social and economic divisions in Europe can be overcome faster and more effectively. The closer Union will lead to Europe emerging as a global power that will contribute to peace and security world-wide. I can assure you, that this is what Lithuanians believe in because Lithuanians are devoted Europeans.