Lithuania: A Case of Confidence in the European Project Building Bridges Paper Series
If Lithuania did not enter the EU with specific objectives in mind, it has clearly benefited from its membership. Membership has allowed the country to catch up economically, to join the Single Market and expand business opportunities. Its adoption of the euro in the midst of the Eurozone crisis is another evidence of Lithuanian keenness to participate actively to the EU.
Lithuanians do are little interested in the level of EU integration. What matters is a strong EU and Lithuania as a member of all circles. EU membership has also allowed the country to feel more confident about asserting its interests in its Eastern neighbourhood to become the “regional activist” within the Eastern Partnership.
The EU does not face a crisis of legitimacy in Lithuania and conjures a very positive image. However, the EU could do better to formulate what it stands for. Today, it appears too technical. But instead of new policies, it should develop the concept of “Europeanness”.
This publication is part of the "Building Bridges Paper Series". For more information about this project, click here.