LFMI withdrew from the Sunrise Commission

Regretting that a good initiative has failed, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) withdrew from the Sunrise Commission, March, and ended its three-year participation in this movement. The reason why LFMI made such a decision was seeing that the work in the Sunrise Commission has became utterly ineffective: attempts to revive the Sunrise have failed, political will to implement the program for improving business conditions is insufficient, members of the working groups are being isolated from information and the proposed solutions are distorted or ignored.

The Sunrise initiative was started in Lithuania in 1999, which was designed to increase the efficiency of the government’s work and to round up the business community and specialists who would identify the sorest problems that inhibit business activities. LFMI joined the Sunrise movement from the very start, taking part in the activities of the Commission and its working groups.

Although the government and the parliament welcomed the proposals of the “first Sunrise” (during the Kubilius administration) and a number of them were immediately debated and adopted, eventually the situation assumed an opposite trend. Proposals of the Sunrise Commission were modified, delayed or absolutely ignored, the working groups ceased to receive information and drafts of legal acts. Simultaneously, the government was taking decisions that apparently ran counter to the declared course of improving the business climate. The Sunrise Commission became formal and ineffective. As a result, members of the working groups lost motivation to work and devote their time, and the business community, seeing no positive decisions, gave up on this initiative.

Seeing the worsening situation, LFMI made repeated attempts to prove that the Sunrise initiative, if properly exploited, could bring an impressive array of positive results. LFMI submitted a number of proposals on how to accelerate the implementation of the decisions of the Sunrise Commission, how to ensure that the adopted legal acts are not in conflict with the ideas of the Sunrise. Sadly, attempts to animate the Sunrise movement failed because of an evident lack of political will to change business conditions.

Although withdrawing from the Sunrise movement, LFMI will continue searching for more effective methods to improve the law-making process that would allow improving the business environment, creating new jobs and increasing personal income.

ISIL World Conference 2003 in Vilnius, Lithuania

On July 6-10, 2003, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) and the Libertarian International will hold an international conference “Toward Liberty: Turning Principles into Reality” which is designed to facilitate the growth of libertarianism around the world. The ISIL's international conferences attract many prominent people of different interests and backgrounds from different parts of the globe and all of whom are united by love to the ideas of individual liberty. Since 1982, the ISIL's annual world conferences have been held in Russia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Southeast Africa, and other countries. This year the ISIL’s annual conference will take place in Lithuania, one of the leading countries that transform the communism regime to a free market economy.

The conference will focus on four major areas: do and how do principles of liberty work?; lessons on implementation of the ideas of liberty; liberty through political decisions – is it the right way; and are we getting closer to the ideal of liberty? The organizers have invited the following prominent speakers: economic advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Mr. Andrej Illarionov, former Advisor to Mr. Gorbachiov Mr. Jurij Maltsev, Vice President of the official opposition party of Belarus Mr. Jaroslav Romanchuk, famous Canadian philosopher Mr. Jan Narveson, member of the ISIL's Board of Directors Mr. Ken Schoolland, American philosopher and Director of Liberty Foundation Mr. Doug den Uyl, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Mr. Mart Laar, apologist of liberty ideas in Lithuania and philosopher Mr. Algirdas Degutis, Chair of LFMI’s Council Ms. Elena Leontjeva, and others.

Besides truly prominent speakers, the conference participants will be offered a visit to the Grutas Park (“Stalin World”) and a remarkable post-conference tour around the capital and its marvellous surroundings. The conference will take place at the Reval Hotel Lietuva, Vilnius, Lithuania. For more details on the conference go to LFMI’s website http://www.freema.org/Events/isil.phtml.

LFMI presents the eleventh survey of the Lithuanian economy

In February, LFMI presented the eleventh survey of the Lithuanian economy which is based on market participants’ estimates of 2002 and updated forecasts for 2003. The survey, conducted in January 2003, shows that last year the Lithuanian economy was rapidly growing, people’s income was increasing, although the financial situation of enterprises slightly deteriorated. It is forecasted that in 2003 the economy will continue to grow steadily, household income will continue to rise and corporate indicators will improve.

According to the LFMI survey, GDP grew by 5.2 percent in 2002 and a similar trend is expected to persist this year. Consumer prices were estimated to rise by 1.3 percent last year and, according to the LFMI survey participants, will go up more rapidly in 2003, by 2.4 percent. In late 2002, unemployment dropped as compared with the end of 2001. It is expected that it will continue to slump and will stand at 11.8 percent in late 2003. Average net earnings, which grew sizeably in 2001, did not change last year and totalled 1,039 litas per month at the end of 2002. However, they are expected to increase by four percent, to 1,081 litas, in 2003. Household income, savings and investments grew last year and this trend will remain in 2003.

A survey of the Lithuanian economy was launched in 1997 to provide estimates and forecasts of macroeconomic variables in Lithuania based on the standpoint of market participants. The LFMI survey is based on the expert consensus paradigm originating from the theory of rational expectations.