On July 11, amendments to the corporate income tax legislation were adopted extending the provision of tax-deductible costs to bad debts, fixed assets maintenance and repair costs as well as computer software. These proposals were formulated as part of the Sunrise programme by a task force headed by LFMI's Vice President Rūta Vainienė.

On July 20 the parliament adopted a law on electrical energy that should become an important step towards liberalisation of the electrical energy sector. LFMI had submitted to the parliament comments and proposals, stressing that the law was riddled with inconsistencies that would hamper the creation of a competitive environment. In the policy paper and media appearances, LFMI criticised provisions prescribing a total licensing of the electrical energy sector, price regulation, privileges for certain producers, etc.

In June LFMI analysed a new draft of the civil code and formulated recommendations for the section regulating different types of contracts and obligations, including leasing. On July 14, LFMI issued a press release criticising restrictions on leasing for consumption purposes and leasing contracts that may undermine leasing activity. This issue received an extensive coverage in mass media. The new civil code was adopted in September 2000 without incorporating any significant changes.

As part of the Sunrise programme, LFMI submitted to the government and the Finance Ministry a new package of policy proposals for reducing bureaucracy. In June, Elena Leontjeva and Rūta Vainienė spoke about impediments to the Sunset and Sunrise initiatives to a foreign investors forum. Elena Leontjeva was cited in the Lietuvos rytas and the Verslo žinios dailies. An interview with the LFMI's president was published in the Veidas journal.

Elena Leontjeva spoke May 31 at a press conference held by the Sunset Commission on planned reorganisation of healthcare institutions. Her opinion was featured in the Lietuvos aidas and Lietuvos žinios dailies.

LFMI's policy analysts commented widely on problems plaguing the agricultural sector. In a series of press releases and media appearances, LFMI promoted liberalisation of the dairy industry and welcomed the removal of price regulation applicable to milk output.

LFMI analysed a draft law on the allocation of the privatisation fund and submitted recommendations to the government. On June 23, Rūta Vainienė commented on the issue on the Lithuanian radio.

On July 10, LFMI's policy analyst Ramūnas Vilpišauskas participated in an informal round-table discussion "Ten Years of Trade Liberalisation in Transition Economies" held by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. The meeting was devoted to economies in transition and drew participants from most countries in transition. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas delivered a paper "Trade Policy Reforms in Lithuania: Participation in Multilateral and Regional Trade Arrangements," analysing Lithuania's foreign trade policy regime, developments in Lithuania's negotiations with the WTO and the role of regional arrangements in Lithuania's foreign trade.

On September 17-19, LFMI's President Elena Leontjeva participated in the Baltic Development Forum (conference on Partnership and Growth in the Baltic Region) in Malmo, Sweden. The topics of the conference were "Shaping a Larger and Stronger Europe" and "Business and Finance as Drivers of Transition." Elena Leontjeva moderated a panel "Taking the Plunge: How companies from the candidate countries succeed in the EU market." The event drew high-ranking officials from the Baltic Region and the EU, policy analysts, business leaders, and media representatives.

On October 25 - 27, LFMI's Vice President Ugnius Trumpa participated in the 8th Baltic Rim conference of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation "Multi-Party Democracy in the New Democracies of the Baltic Region" in Laueburg, Germany. The conference discussed reasons for growing disaffection with politics, slower political progress, economic instability and increasing political populism. Ugnius Trumpa delivered a paper "Parties in the Baltic Region - Torn between Private Economic Interests and Populist Temptations." Drawing on data from sociological surveys, he presented public opinion about corruption in politics and state governance, analysed the effectiveness of traditional remedies for fighting corruption and proposed innovative solutions.

On December 7, President Ugnius Trumpa and Policy Analyst Guoda Steponavičienė participated in a seminar "Community Foundations. Community Philanthropy" organised by the Baltic-American Partnership Program and Open Society Fund-Lithuania in Vilnius. The event drew representatives from non-governmental organisations and community foundations. Ugnius Trumpa delivered a paper "The Philanthropic Environment in Lithuania" analysing in the volume of philanthropic activities in the recent years, factors affecting private giving as well as opportunities to establish community foundations. Guoda Steponavičienė presented an opening paper on recent economic developments and conditions for the establishment of community foundations.