"Free Market" - Outreach

"The Free Market", 1998 No. 3

Private Enterprise

The LFMI evaluated a draft law on small and medium-sized enterprise. Elena Leontjeva and Rūta Vainienė presented the LFMI's position to the June 30 cabinet session. Vainienė testifed before the Economic Committee of the Lithuanian Industrialists Confederation, June 29.

Vainienė spoke on the investment draft law and the proposed repayment of enterprise debts to the state budget with enterprise property and stock at the June 8 meeting of the Economic Committee of the Lithuanian Industrialists Confederation.

Elena Leontjeva and Remigijus Šimašius met with representatives of legal consulting firms to discuss the defects of the company law and ways to remove them, July 2.

The LFMI evaluated a draft law on leasing submitted by the Economic Ministry.

Vainienė presented the LFMI's comments and proposals to the Economic Committee of the Industrialists Confederation, June 15.

Vainienė and Šimašius testified before a multi-party meeting at the Economic Ministry to discuss the leasing proposal, June 25.

Šimašius appeared about the leasing proposal on the Lithuanian Radio, June 22.

Šimašius was quoted in the Kauno diena daily, June 18.

Leontjeva testified before the June 30 cabinet session on the enterprise revitalisation programme. Vainienė presented the LFMI's position to the Economic Committee of the Industrialists Confederation, June 29.

Fiscal Policy

The LFMI analysed a project of amendments to the corporate and personal income tax legislation. Vainienė commented on the proposed amendments in the July 2 Lietuvos rytas daily, June 9 Respublika, and July 1 Kauno diena.

Financial Infrastructure

LFMI's policy analysts continued to comment on privatisation.

Leontjeva appeared on Znad Wilii radio about the monopoly rights granted to the Lithuanian Telecom, June 1.

The BNS news agency and Verslo žinios paper disseminated a press release about the LFMI's efforts and proposals to revise the privatisation legislation to authorise the sale of state assets through the stock exchange, June 10.

Šimašius was cited about the privatisation legislation in The Baltic Times, June 4-10.

The LFMI continued to participate in the policy-drafting process on the pension fund legislation.

Elena Leontjeva and Audronė Morkūnienė disseminated a policy paper on the pension fund bill to, and testified before, the May 3 cabinet sitting.

Morkūnienė met with the World Bank social mission to dicuss the pension fund proposal and pension fund supervision.

Morkūnienė appeared in the June 5 Respublika about the proposed pension fund scheme.

Morkūnienė gave an interview for the Panorama news programme of the Lithuanian Television May 24 about the Social Welfare Ministry's proposed increase in the retirement age. The institute's position was mentioned in the May 27 Respublika.

Other areas

The LFMI continued to advocate a strict, rule-bound monetary policy under the currency board arrangement.

Vainienė presented the LFMI's position to the Expert Commission and the Council of the Industrialists Confederation, March 30 and April 7.

Vainienė spoke about the principles of the central bank's operation before a meeting of the Industrialists Confederation and the Commercial Banks Association, April 1.

Vainienė was quoted in the March 23 Respublika and gave an interview for the Lithuanian Radio, April 7.

The LFMI evaluated a draft law on money laundering. Ugnius Trumpa and Laimas Fergizas contributed an article about newly proposed regulations and their likely consequences to the June 2 Respublika.

Vainienė commented on Lithuania's trade deficit for Free Europe radio, June 26.

Elena Leontjeva was awarded the title of "The Person of the Year in Business and Economics" by the publication "Who's Who in Lithuania 97/98." This acknowledgement was featured in Respublika, June 5, Vakarinės Naujienos, June 5, and Verslo Žinios, June 8.

Guoda Steponavičienė presented proposals for liberalisation of urban transportation during a meeting organised by the Liberal faction of the Vilnius City Council, June 15.

Ugnius Trumpa attended a Council sitting of the Economic Development Agency and presented proposals to revise the organisation's goals, June 18.

An interview with the LFMI's fellow Audronis Raguotis about Lithuania in the context of free market reforms appeared in the Veidas journal, June 18.

Morkūnienė, Steponavičienė and Vainienė received Japan's charge d'affaires Kinji Shinoda to discuss economic reform in Lithuania, June 23.

LFMI's staff members spoke about economic reforms in Lithuania to a group from Friedrich Naumann Foundation's Teodor Heusse Academy, July 2.