Lietuvos regioninės politikos kaitos tendencijos Europos sąjungos kontekste ; Changes of Lithuanian regional policy in the European Union context

Abstract

The article analyses application of new Lithuanian regional policy to future Lithuanian regions according to official documents, regional statistical data calculations and analysis. The scientific research problem of the article deals with the following problematic questions: 1) what are the aspects of application of new Lithuanian regional policy for future Lithuanian regions?; 2) What are the groups of regional development indicators, economic and social groups, which could be used to forecast perspectives of Lithuanian regional policy and to ground future regional policy of the Republic of Lithuania? The aim of the research is by using scientific methods to investigate situation of future regions in the Republic of Lithuania and to ground possibilities of regional development dealing with social and economic development, to adapt innovative experience of the European Union and other countries. Scientific literature analysis, documents' content analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis of research data, calculations of percentage changes have been used in the article. There have been discussed the aspects of the EU regional policy dealing with innovations, use of structural funds and focus on principles of sustainable development. Two charts illustrating complex process of the EU regional policy related to national regional policy in the Republic of Lithuania have been given. Activities of Regional Committee have been discussed and related to activities of Šiauliai county representatives. The situation of the Lithuanian regional policy from 1994 to 2009 has been analyzed. The new reform of counties' dissolution and creation of new Lithuanian regions has been discussed according to the decrees of the Government of Lithuania, laws of Lithuania, and ideas of Lithuanian politicians. [.]