Operational programme for the Economical Growth for 2007–2013

Operational Programme for Economic Growth for 2007–2013 15th July 2007, Vilnius, TABLE OF CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION AND OF DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS IN LITHUANIA 1.1 general overview of the lithuanian economY/ production sector .5 1.2 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INNOVATIONS 30 1.3 DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION SOCIETY 39 1.4 TRANSPORT NETWORK 43 1.5 EnergY SUPPLY NETWORKS 55 1.6 SWOT ANALYSIS 60 62 OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME STRATEGY 63 2.1 VISIONS AND OBJECTIVES 63 2.2 PRIORITY 1: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND GROWTH OF THE ECONOMY 72 2.3 PRIORITY 2: INCREASING BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY AND IMPROVING ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS 77 2.4 PRIORITY 3: INFORMATION SOCIETY FOR ALL 83 2.5 prioritY 4: BASIC eConomiC infrastruCTURE 88 2.6 priority 5: DEVELOPMENT OF Trans-europEAN transpORT NETWORKS 93 2.7 PRIORITY 6: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR the implementation of the Operational Programme ON ECONOMY GROWTH .96 2.8 CORRESPONDENCE TO Horizontal THEMES AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION .99 FINANCIAL PLAN 102 QUANTIFICATION OF OBJECTIVES 103 PREPARATION OF THE OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME 113 5.1 Partnership 113 5.2 Ex-ante Evaluation 115 5.3 Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment 117 IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS 120 ANNEX I breakdown of EXPENDITURE by categories 135 ANNEX II INDICATIVE LIST OF MAJOR PROJECTS 137 ANNEX III FINANCIAL FLOWS 138 ANNEX IV EX-ANTE RECOMMENDATIONS – OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME ON ECONOMIC GROWTH 140 ANNEX V COMPATIBILITY OF ASSISTANCE WITH OTHER OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES AND OTHER EU FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 155 ANNEX VI STATE AID CLAUSE 161 ANNEX VII PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 162 ANNEX VIII REGIONS FOR ECONOMIC CHANGE INITIATIVE 163 ANNEX IX COOPERATION WITH THE BALTIC SEA COUNTRIES 164 ANNEX X RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES IMPLEMENTING THE LITHUANIAN STRATEGY FOR THE USE OF EUROPEAN UNION STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE FOR 2007–2013 165 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Labour productivity by sectors of the economy in 2002–2005, LTL/hour Figure Structure of value added created by industries in 2005, % Figure Labour productivity in sectors of manufacturing industry by countries in 2003, EUR’0008……………………………………………………………………………………… Figure Structure of products sold by high and medium-high technology industries Figure Structure of products sold by low and semi-low technology industries Figure Investment share of GDP in 2005, % 10 Figure Share of investments by businesses in GDP in 2005, % 11 Figure Goods exports and exports of goods of Lithuanian origin in 2000–2005, LTL m 12 Figure Structure of products sold by main industries in 2005 (preliminary data provided by the Department of Statistics), % 14 Figure 10 Structure of exports of goods of Lithuanian origin by goods chapters, 2005 14 Figure 11 Annual volumes of FDI in Lithuania, LTL m .18 Figure 12 Annual FDI per capita in the new EU Member States, EUR .18 Figure 13 Share of GDP created by SMEs in 2001–2004, % .22 Figure 14 Structure of active SMEs according to type of economic activity as of the end of 2001–2004, % .23 Figure 15 Infrastructure of public services for business .26 Figure 16 Ratio between expenditure for R&D and GDP in Lithuania, % 31 Figure 17 Expenditure for R&D by financing sources in Lithuania in 2004 33 Figure 18 Innovation businesses by types of economic activities in 2002–2004, % 34 Figure 19 Cooperation partners of innovative businesses 35 Figure 20 Factors hindering innovations, % of total number of businesses according to high importance 36 Figure 21 Volumes of cargo carriage by rail in Lithuania in 2000–2005 48 Figure 22 Dynamics of passenger carriage volumes at Lithuanian airports in 1993–2005 50 Figure 23 Number of 110 kV transformer substations in the transmission network, by age .53 Figure 24 Share of natural gas in the EU primary energy balance in 2004 55 Figure 25 Administration scheme of the Operational Programme on Economy Growth… …118 LIST OF TABLES Table Growth of GDP in Lithuania in 2001–2005 .5 Table Comparison of GDP per capita by counties .6 Table Ratings of Lithuanian’s competitiveness factors in the European context 15 Table Methodologies for determining competitive strength/weakness of Lithuania .15 Table Air emissions of pollutants .16 Table Energy consumption intensity in Lithuania 17 Table FDI per capita by Lithuanian counties 18 Table Annual demand for industrial lots for greenfield investments 20 Table Employment of residents according to employment statistics, 2004–2005 27 Table 10 Key discrepancies between Lithuania and the EU average 28 Table 11 Participation of Lithuanian institutions in the EU Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, 2002–2006 I half-year 37 Table 12 Main discrepancies between Lithuania and the EU average 37 Table 13 Discrepancies between Lithuania and the EU in the area of information society .42 Table 14 Lithuanian transport network .44 Table 15 Share of gravel roads in the total Lithuanian road network 45 Table 16 Discrepancies between Lithuania and the EU in the transport sector 52 Table 17 Discrepancies between Lithuania and the EU in the energy sector .57 Table 18 SWOT analysis .58 Table 19 Breakdown of assistance by years and funds, EUR million 99 Table 20 Breakdown of assistance by priorities, EUR million 99 ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION AND OF DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS IN LITHUANIA 1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE LITHUANIAN ECONOMY/ PRODUCTION SECTOR Main statements: • The rates of growth of Lithuanian economy are sufficiently high; however, the growth has been caused by the opening of new European markets and high domestic consumption and borrowing rates Therefore, if no internal sources for increasing competitiveness are sought, the growth may slow down • Low and medium-low technology sectors prevail in the Lithuanian economy; value added created by them is low, which prevents the country from reaching high competitive positions in the global markets • Although technological renovation in the economy has been on the rise, its rates are considerably lower than those of dynamically developing states and/or states of similar size, therefore, Lithuanian economy is characterized by low productivity in all sectors including those which sufficiently good growth performance • Lithuania as an open economy with a small domestic market has insufficient levels of export of Lithuanian goods • The rates of attraction of direct foreign investments is very low, while accrued FDI per capita is the lowest among European countries • Information and communications technologies infrastructure is being developed, however, the development is not even throughout the country Insufficient availability of public services into the electronic environment prevents optimization of business processes • There are almost no strategic investors whose business strategy in Lithuania is based on investments in the development of intellectual capital rather than lower operating costs • The infrastructure of public services for business is in the initial stage of development The intensity of provision and quality of services to businesses are insufficient • Clusterisation and partnership networks are underdeveloped • Industry is the sector of the Lithuanian economy characterized by highest energyconsumption rates General economic situation in Lithuania and analysis of key economic sectors Compared to the economy of the European Union, Lithuanian economy is rapidly growing In 2001–2005 the growth of Lithuania’s GDP was 7.6% on average – one of the highest among the EU Member States Table Growth of GDP in Lithuania in 2001–2005 2001 2002 2003 2004 Growth in Lithuania’s GDP, % (at 6,4 6,8 10,5 7,0 comparative prices of 2000) Source: Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania 2005 7,5 Macroeconomic environment in Lithuania is considered to be stable In 2004, Lithuania’s macroeconomic stability index accounted for 90.4% of the EU-15 index Stable macroeconomic situation results in relatively high international competitiveness ratings, however, this in substance is a pre-condition for rather than a factor of competitiveness Stable macroeconomic position is a pre-condition for the emergence and growth of competitiveness, therefore, it must be maintained However, macroeconomic environment is not a specific factor of competitiveness, i.e it does not by itself increase businesses’ ability to compete under rapidly changing conditions2 Despite rapid growth in 2004 Lithuania’s GDP per capita was as low as 48% of the EU average Furthermore, according to economists3, in 2006–2008 GDP growth will slow down due to various factors such as cyclic character of economic development, forecast growth in interest rates, and “cooling” of the domestic market The present rapid economic growth can be explained by significant falling behind European countries in terms of development, therefore, the growth arises from natural and unavoidable integration processes An analysis of GDP/cap by counties for 2000–2004 shows that there are considerable discrepancies in economic development of Lithuanian counties and such discrepancies are not diminishing (see Table 2) The ratio between the highest (Vilnius county) and the lowest (Tauragė county) GDP/cap has grown in 2000–2003 from 2.16 to 2.65 and a slight decrease was observed only in 2004, when the ratio was 2.62 During the entire period from 2000 till 2004, only two counties (Vilnius and Klaipėda) exceeded the national average of GDP/cap., while in other counties this value was lower (and in Tauragė and Marijampolė counties much lower) than the national average Deviations from the average are marked and are still increasing In 2000, GDP/cap in Vilnius county exceeded the national average by 33.4%, while in Tauragė county it accounted for just 61.7% of the average In 2004, GDP/cap in Vilnius county was already 44.3% above national average, while in Tauragė county in 2004 DGP/cap it still accounted for only 55% of the average Table GDP per capita by counties GDP per capita, LTL’000 Compared to national average, % 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 National average 13,1 13,9 15 16,4 18,2 100 100 100 100 100 Alytus county 10,7 11,2 11,6 11,9 12,9 81,9 80,2 77,1 72,5 71,1 Kaunas county 12,6 13,7 14,1 15,8 17,5 95,9 97,9 94,2 96,1 96,1 Klaipėda county 14,8 15,4 16,2 17,5 18,7 112,7 110,3 108,5 106,5 102,9 Marijampolė county 9,6 9,4 9,9 11,3 11,8 73,2 67,7 66,4 68,6 65,1 In 2004 the value of the EU-15 macroeconomic stability index was 4.93, Lithuania’s index - 4.46 Source: The Global Competitiveness Report, 2004 according to the Comprehensive Study of Sources (Factors) of Growth and Competitiveness of the Lithuanian Economy, Vilnius, 2006, p Comprehensive Study of Sources (Factors) of Growth and Competitiveness of the Lithuanian Economy, Vilnius, 2006, p 253, 247 AB SEB Vilniaus Bankas Lithuanian Macroeconomic Overview, (24), March 2006 Panevėžys county 11,8 12,4 13 13,7 15,4 90,4 89 86,6 83,1 84,5 Šiauliai county 10,2 10,4 11,1 12,4 13,7 77,5 74,4 74,1 75,2 75,6 Tauragė county 8,1 8,5 8,7 8,9 10 61,7 60,8 57,9 54,1 55 Telšiai county 11,2 12,1 12,5 13,9 16,2 85,3 86,7 83,4 84,6 89,3 Utena county 11,1 11,6 12,4 14 15,1 84,5 83,4 82,6 85,1 83,2 Vilnius county 17,5 19 21,5 23,6 26,2 133,4 136,3 143,3 143,4 144,3 Source: Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Labour productivity is steadily increasing in Lithuania, however, the rate of growth is insufficient: in 2004 the overall labour productivity in the country accounted for only 41.7% of the labour productivity (GDP created by the economy per working hour) of the old EU Member States According to this indicator Lithuania is above only its closest neighbours Latvia and Estonia, however, it lags behind other new EU Member States: Czech Republic (49,9%), Poland (47,6%), Slovenia (66%) and Slovakia (52.8%) Further economic growth is threatened by insufficient changes in overall labour productivity during recent years (2.6% growth in 2004, 3% in 2005) and by the slowdown or even decrease in labour productivity in certain sectors (see Fig 1) 100 90 80 70 60 Labour productivity, LTL/hour Figure Labour productivity by sectors of the economy in 2002–2005, LTL/hour 2002 2003 2004 2005 50 40 30 20 10 Manufacturing industry Supply of power, Building gas and water Domest.trade Transport, warehousing Commu Financial -nications intermediation Real estate etc Source: Calculated according to data provided by Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Manufacturing industry is the most important sector of Lithuanian economy in terms of creation of value added (see Fig 2) and it accounts for the largest share of the country’s export: 60% of its products are exported EUROSTAT, Labour productivity per hour worked Average value added created by a worker during hour Figure Structure of value added created by industries in 2005, % Public administration and defence 5% Real estate ad other activities 10% Health and social work Education 5% Financial intermediation 3% Communications 3% Transport, warehousing Hotels and restaurants 10% 2% 3% Mining 1% Agriculture 6% Manufacturing industry 22% Power, gas and water supply 4% Construction 8% Domestic trade 18% Source: Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania However, the rate of growth in labour productivity in the manufacturing industry has decreased in recent years, which shows the need for the modernization of industry and investment into new technologies In addition, productivity of Lithuanian industry is still considerably lagging behind the EU Member States: according to EUROSTAT, in 2003 the ratio between the value added and the number of workers in the manufacturing industry was approx times lower than the EU-25 average According to the same source, Lithuania’s productivity indicator is 7–9 times lower than those of United Kingdom and Germany and approx times than those of Estonia and Czech Republic even in wood processing industry, where the advantages of Lithuanian enterprises are traditionally recognized (see Fig 3) Figure Labour productivity in sectors of manufacturing industry by countries in 2003, by countries, EUR’000 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 Labour productivity, thousands EUR Wood and wood products industry Belgium Furniture industry Denmark G.Britain Textile industry Chemicals Machine building industry Germany Czech R Estonia Latvia Poland Lithuania Source: EUROSTAT Unsatisfactory labour productivity rates are partially determined by a small share of the product created by high and medium-high technology sectors6 in the country’s industry as a whole According to the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, in 2005 the product created by high and medium-high technology sectors accounted for just 16.1% of the industrial products sold (see Figures below) Another reason for low labour productivity is low value added created by traditional sectors accounting for the largest part of the Lithuanian economy According to NAC classification defined by EUROSTAT and OECD This term is used further in this document: High and medium-high technology sectors: medicines industry, production of medical chemical products and botanical products (24.4), production of chemicals and chemical industry products (24 except 24.4), production of office equipment and computers (30), production of radio, television and communications equipment and devices (32), production of medical, high-precision and optical devices and clocks of various types (33); production of other electric machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified (31), production of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (34), production of railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock (35.2), production of aircraft and spaceships (35.30), production of motorcycles and bicycles (35.4), production of other transport equipment not classsified elsewhere (35.5), production of other machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified (29), also the knowledge-intensive hightechnology service sectors: post and telecommunications (64), computers and related activities (72), research and development (73) Figure Structure of products sold by high and medium-high technology industries (share in total sales: 16.1%) Other transport equipment industry Medical, precision and optical Electrical machinery į devices industry and equipment industry Machinery and equipment 1.9 0.8 2.4 2.3 Office equipment and computer industry 0.1 Motor vehicles, trailers and s.trailers industry Radio, TV and comm.equipment industry 0.4 Chemicals industry , 5.6 2.6 Source: Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2005 Figure Structure of products sold by low and medium-low technology industries (share in total sales: 83.9%) Wood and wood products industry (except furniture) 5.7 Sewing of clothing, hide industry 4.9 Furniture industry and other production not elsewhere classified Rubber and plastic articles industry 4.4 4.0 Other (less than 4%), 17.2 Foodstuffs and beverages industry 17.5 Refined oil products industry 30.3 Source: Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2005 In Lithuania the largest part of value added is created by the service sector, however, the growth in labour productivity and in value added per worker of the service sector is unsatisfactory as in this sector the introduction of process- and technology-related innovations is quite complicated, while highly-qualified labour force is the main factor of productivity In macroeconomic terms, material investments or investments in the formation of capital base is the main precondition for long-term growth of the economy This, in part, reflects a traditional view that growth in productivity is related to the increase in the share of capital-intensive business sectors/businesses, which results in a higher GDP per capita According to EUROSTAT, in 2005 the share of investments in the formation of capital base of GDP in Lithuania was 22.3%, exceeding the average of the old EU Member States (19.8%) However, this value was lower than those of most new Member States (see Fig 6), with the value of China, which is marked by increasing competitiveness and influence in the global economy, being as high as 45.6% in 2004 Figure Investment share of GDP in 2005, % 10 19 The main objectives of this priority include the actions of the development of the systems of electricity, heat and transport network The system of indicators should include these areas of action coherently and the number of indicators should reflect the distribution of expenses according to the priority themes i.e the bigger number of its assigning to the action group of traffic network 20 The objective of the action group is to increase the security and reliability of the energy supply but the indicator is not foreseen It could be measured by indicator of the frequency and the average duration of the interruption of energy supply for users 21 In evaluating this advice the Ministry of Economy suggests to include the indicator of the decrease of the average not planed short interruption in distributive electric network per one user per one year (Momentary Average Interruption Frequency index – MAIFI) (%) and the indicator of the energy intensity √ √ The OP includes indicator on number of heat customers for whom reliability and quality of heat supply has improved √√ The hardly acceptable indicator of 100 units of the modernized installations in the electricity transmission and distribution networks because the category of electricity installations is not clear It would be advisable to distribute this indicator between transmission and distribution networks 154 ANNEX V COMPATIBILITY OF ASSISTANCE WITH OTHER OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES AND OTHER EU FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS PRIORITY/OBJECTIVE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER EU FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS Priority 1: Research and Development for Competitiveness and Growth of the Economy Support for: - activities of scientific research centres; - centres of sciences-business interaction; - the research of centres of excellence in state scientific institutions and universities in the fields of high and medium high technologies (by global grant schemes, including scientific equipment); - the researches of state scientific institutions and universities in the fields of high and medium high technologies; - centres, existing under public science and study institutions, implementing the functions of technology transfer Only “hard” investments will be financed under this priority, while “soft” investments will be supported under priority of Human Resources Development OP Human Resources Development Operational Programme (Priority Increase of the capacity of researchers) - Support for scientists and other researchers (students) in the fields of scientific activity (by global grant schemes), studies, mobility: employment of researchers in public sector and in enterprises of high and medium high technologies, scientific internship of students, scholarships for PhD students, projects for development of regional and sectoral mobility (study visits), spread of R&D results, innovative capacity, management of intellectual property Only “soft” investments will be financed under this priority, while “hard” investments will be supported under priority of OP on Economy Growth 7th framework programme: - transnational mobility and continuous upgrading of professional skills of scientists and researchers in EU scientific centres of excellence EAFRD: - Measure „Vocational training and information actions“ (vocational training and information actions, including dissemination of scientific knowledge and innovative practices, for persons engaged in agricultural and forestry sectors) Demarcation criterion – range of activity: training in agriculture and forestry - Measure “Modernisation of agricultural holdings”, Activity “Investments into agricultural production and / or services to agricultural sector” (purchase of new agricultural machinery and equipment, computer hardware and software) Applicants: natural or legal person engaged in agricultural activity, science and education institutions, possessing experimental, demonstration, training and test farms and engaging in agricultural production Demarcation criteria: range of activity: spreading of science and technology in agriculture EFF: - Support for promotion of partnership of scientists and operators in the fisheries sector, pilot projects for 155 innovations in fisheries sector Applicants: non-governmental organisations or public legal persons representing interests of fisheries sector - Support for construction, extension, equipment and modernization of fish processing enterprises when seeking to produce or to market new fish products, applying new technologies or developing innovative production methods Applicants: fish processing enterprises with less than 750 employees or with a turnover of less than EUR 200 m Priority 2: Increasing business productivity and improving environment for business Objective 1: Increasing of productivity of businesses - investments in new production equipment and technologies, e-business solutions, quality and production process management, etc systems, energy audits in enterprises aiming to increase their productivity, improve quality of its activities, etc Applicants: enterprises Human Resources Development Operational Programme (Priority High-quality employment and social inclusion) - Development of human resources in enterprises: Training and upgrading of the qualifications of workers, executives, personnel managers of enterprises (development of general and specific skills and competencies), creation and installation in enterprises of modern systems of personnel management correlated with actual training of managers and workers Applicants: enterprises EAFRD: - Measure “Modernisation of agricultural holdings” (support for the purchase of new agricultural machinery and equipment, computer hardware and software intended for the use of the project; development of holding’s infrastructure when it is related to agricultural production and/or processing and/or services for agriculture sector and preparation for marketing) Applicants: farmer or a legal entity engaged in agricultural production and/or services for agriculture sector and having registered his/her holding according to the national legal acts; cooperatives, science and education institutions, possessing experimental, demonstration, training and test farms and engaging in agricultural production -Measure “Processing of agricultural products and increasing of added value” (support for new equipment and machinery, including computer software) Applicants: micro-enterprises operating in urban 156 area, small and medium-sized enterprises processing and /or engaged in marketing of agricultural products and have been engaged in business for at least previous years before entering the scheme; enterprises with employ 250 to 750 employees or with an annual turnover from EUR 50 million to EUR 200 million that process agricultural products and/or have been engaged in business for at least previous years before entering the scheme; agricultural cooperatives Demarcation criteria - range of activity: investments in new production equipment and technologies in agriculture and production of agricultural products EFF: - Aquaculture: measures associated with the industrial investment in aquaculture - support to founding, development, equipping, and modernizing of fish processing enterprises, aiming to produce and provide new fish products, apply new technologies, or develop progressive production methods Applicants: fish processing enterprises that employ no less than 750 people, or with an annual turnover from EUR 200 m Objective 2: Increase viability of businesses and promote entrepreneurship 157 - infrastructure for business environment: development of business incubators and information centres in places not belonging to rural areas), etc - measures to improve business environment: creation of databases, market assessment, information dissemination for businesses: seminars, conferences, etc cooperation of business associations or business information centers etc with other relevant institutions and exchange of experience, etc.; - projects for competitiveness growth: preparation, various sectorial and overall competitiveness studies, activities for improvement of Lithuanian business environment image, etc Human Resources Development Operational Programme (Priority High-quality employment and social inclusion) - Training of people’s entrepreneurship skills in connection with establishment of business Applicants: Business information centres, business incubators, non-governmental organizations Operational Programme for Promotion of Cohesion, priority (Local and urban development, conservation of cultural heritage and nature and adaptation for tourism development) - improvement of community urban infrastructure (Renovation and development of public leisure, sport and cultural, urban transport infrastructure important for business) Complex development projects exceeding 200 000 euros will be financed Applicants: municipalities or their institutions EAFRD: - Measure „Vocational training and information actions“ (vocational training and information actions, including dissemination of scientific knowledge and innovative practices, for persons engaged in agricultural and forestry sectors) Demarcation criterion – range of training: agriculture and forestry - Measure “Use of advisory services“ (advisory services for natural persons or a legal entities and forest owners engaged in agriculture and/or forestry Advisory services on the statutory management requirements and the good agricultural and environmental practice, agri-environmental, bookkeeping, forestry issues) Demarcation criterion: advisory services in fields of agriculture and forestry Objective 3: improve access to financing sources for SMEs - financial engineering measures (micro credits, guarantees, risk capital funds) EAFRD: Measure “Support for business creation and development” (support for establishment and development of micro-enterprises in rural areas) Demarcation criteria - type of support: investment support (the support is not refunded by applicant) EFF: - Aquaculture: investments to construction, development and modernization of production equipments; - Processing and marketing of fishery products Priority Information society for all 158 - distant learning: measures of informal education for all people of the country via internet (e-content will not be created) Human Resources Development Operational Programme (Priority Lifelong learning) - distant learning (creation of e-content of informal learning and measures of formal learning) Applicants: providers of formal and informal education services Human Resources Development Operational Programme, priority (Administrative capacity building and increase of efficiency of public administration) - distant learning and e-content: creation of training measures for civil servants - development of interactive eGovernment services (no less than 3th level of online sophistication) for citizens and business Human Resources Development Operational Programme, priority (Administrative capacity building and increase of efficiency of public administration) - development of information systems and databases of public administration institutions together with other measures such as improvement of legal environment, training, etc Development of IT measures in such projects is oriented only to optimization of internal procedures of national and municipality institutions and/or provision of GOV-2GOV electronic services Priority Basic economic infrastructure 159 Building and reconstruction of regional roads (including paving of gravel roads) Applicants: municipalities EAFRD: Measure „Modernisation of agricultural holdings“ (support for building farm roads) Demarcation criteria: - applicant: natural or legal person engaged in agricultural activity; - location of project implementation (farm area) Investing in deepening of ports, construction and reconstruction of docks, improvement of interaction between ports and rail and road transport, development of inland waterways EFF: Support for investments in existing public and private fishing ports, for reconstruction of landing sites and for investments in modernization and reconstruction of small fishing shelters Priority Technical assistance for the implementation of the operational programme on Economy Growth Objective 1: To ensure the effective functioning of the system for management and control of the EU structural assistance received under the Convergence Objective in the course of the implementation of this Operational Programme for Economy Growth The technical assistance will be provided under this priority to the activities of all institutions involved in the implementation of the Economy Growth Operational Programme related exclusively to the implementation of this Operational Programme Operational Programme for Technical Assistance In case the same institution will be involved in the implementation of more than one Operational Programmes, its activities could be financed from the Technical Assistance Operational Programme Objective 2: To improve awareness of the potential beneficiaries, beneficiaries and partners about the assistance provided by the Cohesion Promotion Operational Programme and results of its implementation, to perform evaluation activities of the Economy Growth Operational Programme The publicity and evaluation activities related exceptionally to Economy Growth Operational Programme will be financed under this priority Operational Programme for Technical Assistance The publicity and evaluation activities related to more than one Operational Programmes will be financed from the Technical Assistance Operational Programme 160 ANNEX VI STATE AID CLAUSE Any public support under this programme must comply with the procedural and material State aid rules applicable at the point of time when the public support is granted 161 ANNEX VII PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Member state ensures that public procurement carried out implementing projects under this Programme complies with provisions of Directives 2004/17 /EC and 2004/18/EC or respective principles of the Treaty 162 ANNEX VIII REGIONS FOR ECONOMIC CHANGE INITIATIVE The Coordinator (as referred in chapter 6) or Managing Authority may: a) allow in the Monitoring Committee the presence of a representative (as an observer) of the network(s) participating in the Regions for Economic Change initiative to report on the progress of the network's activities related to the implementation of the Operational Programme on Economy Growth; b) foresee a point in the agenda of the Monitoring Committee to take note of the network's activities and to discuss relevant suggestions for the Operational Programme on Economy Growth c) inform in the Annual Report on the implementation of the regional actions included in the Regions for Economic Change initiative and related to the implementation of the Operational Programme on Economy Growth 163 ANNEX IX COOPERATION WITH THE BALTIC SEA COUNTRIES Given the size of the national market, where appropriate, co-operation with the other Baltic Sea countries will be sought in areas of common interest and where either economies of scale or the possibility to reach a critical mass might facilitate opportunities that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve individually 164 ANNEX X RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES IMPLEMENTING THE LITHUANIAN STRATEGY FOR THE USE OF EUROPEAN UNION STRUCTURAL ASSISTANCE FOR 2007–2013 No Recommendation We propose to add provisions in the OPs which would obligate the County Governor’s Administrations and Municipalities to revise their strategic documents as soon as possible and to supplement them with the priorities, goals and objectives stated in the programming documents This should be emphasized in the programming documents as Municipalities and County Governor’s Administrations play a major role in implementing the measures of environment protection and improving its state In order to get the maximum benefit from the investments in environment protection, the environment conservation principle should be observed This should be emphasized in the OPs, especially in the OP on Economic Growth In this OP there should be more aspects/explanations/arguments concerning environment protection in determining the solutions significant for the economy of the country, i.e to affirm that the combination of solutions which would not damage the quality of the environment is sought Because of the fact that EU countries in the sphere of waste management are orientated towards the measures of waste prevention, recycling and biological decomposition of waste, which are cheaper and create more workplaces as compared with the dumping grounds and their burning, the question arises if the priorities of Lithuania in foreseeing the future investments are harmonized with the future policy of the EU Therefore, it is essential to supplement the OP on Economic Growth with the tendencies of recycling and other means of management (for example, China is creating “waste recycling economy”, in some states of the USA there is a settled prohibition to scrap some sort of waste in dumping grounds and the recycling of them is encouraged; in Japan there are a lot of spheres of waste policy which are called “3R – reducing, reusing and recycling”) Due to the fact that Europe is seeking to become more competitive and dynamic, in the text of the OP there should emerge similar aspects generalizing the vision of environment protection The analysis of the current social and economic state of environment requires much time to collect the data and to check its reliability The data collection and processing is a problem not only in Lithuania but also in EU countries In the part of monitoring the implementation of the OP we Taken into account/not taken into account Taken into account Taken into account Comments The Ministry of Interior will inform all the County Governor Administrations and municipalities, that in accordance with goals, priorities, and objectives, identified in the Operational Programmes, the regional strategic documents should be revised All investment projects will be assessed in respect of impact on environment Not taken into account Proposal of experts to define a separate waste management sphere under this OP is not acceptable, because the main goal of the Operation Programme on Economy Growth is increasing of competitiveness on various sectors of economy As regards waste management measures, they are foreseen under Operational Programme on Promotion of Cohesion Partly taken into account Monitoring arrangements are thoroughly described in chapter (Implementing provisions) It is foreseen that Monitoring 165 propose to emphasize the importance of monitoring the outcomes Moreover, we propose that in the future in monitoring the after-effects for environment it would be possible to move to the indicators used by EU countries which are used to assess the progress of EU countries in environment protection (The European Environment, State and Outlook 2005) – indicators and their two positions (fixed state and progress) We recommend establishing a group of independent experts who would work permanently in the sphere of improvement of the monitoring system and would coordinate this activity The Environmental Protection Agency which now performs the monitoring of the environment in Lithuania should appear in the administration scheme of implementation of the OP The aspects of the better use and increase in the competitive ability of Klaipėda Seaport should be better described in the OP on Economic Growth as the experts of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment could not make conclusions due to the lack of information (they estimated only the possible outcomes for separate components of environment) We propose to explain which environmental problems could be solved at the national level by increasing the potential of Klaipėda Seaport Low interest of the public in the results of the report of Strategic Committee will be involved in the monitoring of the horizontal priorities Partly taken into account Taken into account In order to increase the capacity and competitiveness of Klaipėda Seaport in 2007–2013 it is planned to establish an infrastructure of passengers and cargo terminal while increasing the safety and decreasing the negative impact on the environment ( the decrease of noise and exhaust gas) Moreover, it is planned to fix the access roads to multimodal cargo terminals in the southern part of the Seaport and to install a wharf for boats and small ships In developing the Seaport in 2007–2013 it is not planned to implement the projects which would solve the environmental problems at the national level (for example, the establishment of useful infrastructure for the exportation of non-burnable waste to other countries) Estimating that currently there is no demand to export such waste , the loader companies in Klaipėda Seaport not plan to establish useful superstructure for that but the infrastructure which depends upon the state could fully meet these demands Information actions will be 166 Environmental Impact Assessment could have an impact on implementing the OPs, so in the text of the OPs there should be included the proposal that after the execution of the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment it is essential to further inform the public In the OPs we recommend to pay specific attention to the Regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) which took effect on the 1st of January, 2007 In the context of sustainable development this system will introduce a lot of innovations and could have an impact on the implementation of the objectives set in the OPs The experience of EU countries shows that unemployment has significantly increased and it had an impact on the development of small and medium enterprises This system is built on the principle that if there is no data about the chemical – there is no market The danger for environment protection arises from the fact that waste does not fall under the sphere of regulation/control and could become an object of fraud (the stock for production could be named as waste and in this way procedural expenses could be avoided) Such threat is a danger for environment, public health and could distort the market – so have an impact on the competitiveness of the country Not taken into account As the conclusions about the possible outcomes of implementation of the OP are evaluated and given in the tables (described) it is possible to make a conclusion that the biggest part of the objectives when implemented will improve the state of environment As the total impact on environmental components is usually positive, we propose while setting the measures of implementation to pay attention to those environmental components which could be affected, i.e while setting the measures of implementation to discuss it with all the interested parts if, for example, the public health or value of the real estate or preservation of landscape is a priority in implementing the objective The damage done to the environment in the past has a huge impact on the value/devaluation of the real estate Most of the population and enterprises not know that in buying or selling the real estate the burning problem is to get the information about the quality of the environment of the location Taken into account Not taken into account continued In line with SEIA Directive, once the OPs are approved the consulted institutions and partners are informed on how the SEIA recommendations are taken into account The measures of the OP on Economic Growth designed for business are not orientated towards purposive sphere of chemicals, thus, the statement that enactment of the REACH regulation could have an impact on the implementation of the OP goals is not reasonable (there is no reasoning in other parts of the report of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment) We think that the implementation of the OP will contribute to the development of the small and medium enterprises and employment so it will decrease some negative outcomes of the implementation of EU directives mentioned by the experts Questions directly related to enactment of the system of REACH will be solved by using the funds of national programmes All investment projects will be assessed in respect of impact on environment Environmental institutions and partners will be participating in decision making on project selection criteria (Monitoring Committee) The formulation of recommendation is not definite and there is no clearer and more comprehensive content which 167 Such situation could have an impact on the foreign investments Therefore, such environmental aspect could appear in the OP on Economic Growth 10 The development of community infrastructure should be related to the changes in municipality budget formation principles while integrating the state attitude (in the sphere of environment protection) The municipal environment protection funds should be orientated towards the co-financing of the objectives of the OPs This attitude should be declared in the programming documents Taken into account 11 Business centers which have a network in Lithuania should pay more attention to the environmental consultations Small and medium businesses not have potential and time to collect the information and adapt it to their business, therefore, they can miss the moment when their disregard for the environmental requirements decrease their competitiveness in the market The specialists of the business centers should propose the businessmen about the questions of development while warning about the need for investments in the measures of environment protection Not taken into account would be related to this recommendation in the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Regional development plans should comply with the principle of sustainable development Furthermore, municipalities have special environment programmes, which could be used for cofinancing In the OP on Economic Growth there is no detailed description of the work topics of business information centers Business information centers together with partners plan their working strategy which is devoted to improvement of business conditions in regions and strengthening of business competitiveness while warranting the flow of actual information We think that the exclusion of one theme not mentioning other important themes for business is inexpedient 168 ... 31 Therefore, within the framework of the Operational Programme on Cohesion Promotion, the facilities for the training of highly-qualified specialists necessary for business should be strengthened... markets The Long-Term Strategy of Development of the Lithuanian Economy by 2015 provides for a rapid growth of the economy by 2010 and for the annual GDP growth by 7% on average; the demand for transport... 1995–2003 the average annual rate of growth in the air passenger flows was 9%, i.e the growth rate doubled that in the developed countries of the world After Lithuania joined the European Union, the