German enterprises are generally very satisfied with Lithuania as their investment location. 135 German companies, based in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, were interviewed for the survey by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK Baltic States). In a regional comparison, the companies based in Lithuania assess the situation the most positive: 98 percent rate it either “good” or “satisfied”. In Estonia, it was 96 percent and in Latvia 88 percent. Economic development significantly better than the EU average 93 percent of the companies would choose Lithuania again as a foreign location. Lithuania has, among other things, the advantage of low personnel costs (ab... More

Lithuania’s shared services sector won in three major categories at the Central and Eastern Europe Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards. At the black tie event in Warsaw last Thursday, Kaunas won the award for “emerging” city of the year, Vilnius won best city of the year, and Barclays Technology Centre in Vilnius was crowned best service centre in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Lithuania featured heavily in this year’s awards, organised by leading Polish information portal Biznes Polska. Alongside the award winners, the short list of 27 nominations included six other companies from the Lithuanian shared services sector; Danske Bank, SEB, Western Union, Ahlstrom... More

The European Commission announced new measures to support innovative companies in Europe. There are mainly two initiatives: so-called FTI, with about €200 mln and SME Instrument with about €117 mln. Business in the Baltics shall be more innovative and active in acquiring EU funds. One initiative is a new €200 million Fast Track to Innovation initiative (FTI) launched on 9 January 2015 by the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas. This instrument will promote innovation by reducing the time it takes to bring innovative ideas to market.  Another initiative is oriented towards active business (so-called SME Instrument): the Commission announce... More

Over the past few months the Baltic States have witnessed an influx of residence permit applications from Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian citizens. The reason behind this is clear; the deteriorating political and economic conditions in these countries. 12 Russian video game development companies have already chosen to set up their new headquarters in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. Marielle Vitureau reports on Radio France Internationale. With its narrow streets winding in between baroque churches, its charming cafes, sprawling green spaces, and multilingualism, Vilnius seems to have everything going for her. But it is, first and foremost, Lithuania’s EU membership – includi... More

The Lithuanian Government has approved amendments to rules for the development and implementation of public private partnership projects (PPPs). The amendments are aimed at improving the procedures for the implementation of PPPs and accelerating the whole process. The new rules will simplify the requirements when preparing a PPP project. New terms for drawing up and evaluating PPP documentation will be established and the whole decision-making process, including new deadlines for approval, will be fixed. For example, project owners will have to begin procurement procedures on a project within 120 days of governmental approval. Moreover, the period of time taken by the relevant authorities t... More