Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Resolution No Xiv
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SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA RESOLUTION NO XIV-72 ON THE PROGRAMME OF THE EIGHTEENTH GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA 11 December 2020 Vilnius In pursuance of Articles 67(7) and 92(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and having considered the Programme of the Eighteenth Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, has resolved: Article 1. To approve the programme of the eighteenth Government of the Republic of Lithuania presented by Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė (as appended). SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen APPROVED by Resolution No XIV-72 of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 11 December 2020 PROGRAMME OF THE EIGHTEENTH GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. As a result of the world-wide pandemic, climate change, globalisation, ageing population and technological advance, Lithuania and the entire world have been changing faster than ever before. However, these global changes have led not only to uncertainty and anxiety about the future but also to a greater sense of togetherness and growing trust in each other and in the state, thus offering hope for a better future. 2. This year, we have celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania’s independence. The state that we have all longed for and taken part in its rebuilding has reached its maturity. The time has come for mature political culture and mature decisions too. The time has come for securing what the Lithuanian society has always held high: openness, responsibility, equal treatment and respect for all. It is only by practising these principles daily that we will be able to strengthen people’s trust in the state and its democratic system and better respond to the needs of society as a whole and of its each individual group. 3. This Government of the Republic of Lithuania is assuming office at a troubling time for both our country as well as the entire world. The COVID-19 (coronavirus infection) pandemic has caused a unique global health crisis and has led to the most painful losses - human lives. The long- term health effects of the pandemic are not yet known or studied. COVID-19 has already dealt an unprecedented blow to global economic development, and due to the renewed outbreak, we are still unable to predict potential future consequences for the economies of the world. 4. The existing circumstances call not only for swift actions. The prevailing uncertainty (we are unaware of how long the virus will last and what its extent and ultimate impact will be) necessitates us to take a fresh look at the road we have covered so far and open up a new page towards progress, grounded on knowledge, forecasts and evidence. 5. We have identified key priorities for our national progress, which will help achieve a major turning point, strengthen our country and its people and make us more resilient to a variety of potential threats, whether it be a health crisis, climate change or other undefined influences. 2 6. We are committed to achieve a major economic breakthrough by shifting our focus on higher economic added value than is currently the case. We will promote growth in labour productivity and foreign direct investments, we will go further in digitisation and implement the public policy for open data. We will enable friendly environment conducive to jobs and business growth. We will take active efforts in promoting the scale of research and innovation, which will, among other priorities, focus on finding solutions to globally emerging trends. 7. We will adhere to the principles of nature-friendly policy, make decisions for responsible consumption, promote public participation in the development of environmental protection activities and environmental decision making. We will strengthen Lithuania’s energy independence and develop the circular economy. 8. Only a trust-based society knows that in times of difficulties it can always rely for help, and that the desire to be full-fledged members of society will not be prevented by physical or other circumstances. Only such a society can be strong. 9. The pandemic has proven that none of us have an immunity against the perils of today, but it has also shown how much we can do for each other. In the light of this, we are committed to facilitate successful fulfilment of individual potential and experience and create an environment where everyone will feel valued and important. No one should be at risk of exclusion, and no senior person should be afraid of ageing. We will work to give persons with disabilities opportunities for self-sufficiency and education and to create favourable working conditions for them. We know that a society is only as strong as its weakest link. 10. The long-term progress of our state depends on the education system and its ability to adapt to the needs of a changing environment. Together with all political forces, teachers, parents, students and society at large, we will work out and put into practice a national education agreement, the main goal of which is to ensure equal opportunities for every Lithuanian child to achieve the best education regardless of their place of residence or social background. 11. The pandemic has brought to light the shortcomings of the existing health system, while showing at the same time the direction we should take to ensure the quality and accessibility of health services for all. We are committed to create a nationwide crisis-proof healthcare system that is convenient, accessible and of high-quality for all, without discrimination however to private health care providers. We will pay much attention to mental health, focusing in the first place on prevention means and programmes so as to avoid long-term negative consequences to health. Our goal is longer life expectancy and that people can enjoy as long as possible a healthy, high-quality and full-fledged life. 12. It is important for us that people living in different parts of Lithuania have equal opportunities to participate or be involved in cultural life, and that they have access to the works created by our culture community. We are committed to reduce the cultural gap between cities and regions. We will boost international and national competitiveness of culture and the creative industries, and we will promote the development of community culture, pay special attention to 3 regional cultural education and advance the inter-cultural dialogue, diversity and the involvement of ethnic communities and youth in cultural processes. We will encourage people to create and consume high-quality cultural content, take care of the cultural and national heritage of our country and foster civic awareness. 13. We are committed to a sustainable and responsible financial policy. We will agree from the outset on the scope of public sector obligations as regards public services, infrastructure, defence, the green deal and economic transformation. Our public service obligations and public revenues cannot move in the opposite directions; therefore, we will discuss potential substantial tax modifications only after the consolidation of the desired model, i.e. in the process of deliberation of its funding. 14. The underlying aim for our regional policy is to provide people with a possibility of building their own way of life regardless of where they live. Well-functioning infrastructure, efficient mobility, job, education, training and entrepreneurship opportunities and access to welfare services in the regions will contribute to this end. We will give more powers to self- government and delegate more functions that are currently performed centrally. We will pay more attention to attracting additional investments to the regions. 15. Competent, responsible and professional public sector employees create great value for the entire society and play a particular role in achieving all the goals set by the state. We are committed to create a high-quality and efficient system of public administration, which will enable attracting, retaining and motivating the best professionals in the public sector and to improve the quality of public services. We believe that streamlined functions, a strategic approach to digitisation of service-oriented public sector and red tape elimination will also add to public sector credibility. General principles for Government operation 16. Government activities and goals can be implemented in a variety of ways. We believe that the method, i.e. how and under which principles the Government implements its programme, is no less important than the tasks and commitments themselves. Our Government pledges to follow these principles: Open data 17. Lithuania has a commitment to publish public data collected and gathered by state institutions for secondary use. Unfortunately, despite investment in technical platforms and publication of datasets, this commitment has failed so far to come to full fruition. 4 18. We undertake to make open data a key element in Government decision-making and communication. We will seek to make it serve as the basis in judging the necessity for decisions, in proposing decision mechanisms and in measuring outcomes. 19. Where possible, the Government will make and interpret decisions based on open data. We will ensure timely and orderly communication of open data to citizens and businesses. This would enable people, businesses and scientists to respond quickly and effectively to emerging challenges and to closely participate in decision-making. 20. For the purpose of this commitment, we hope to bring together different groups in society for dialogue, as data (i.e. factual information) will always serve as a baseline for dialogue and consensus should differences arise over one or another issue. Hence, we trust that a more extensive presentation and use of data will serve as the first base and engine for a meaningful dialogue between the Government and the population.