The launch event of Cohesion Policy funds' in Lithuania on 15-16 June welcomed Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform, and celebrated the achievements of EU Cohesion Policy implementation since the country’s accession to the EU in 2004.

The discussion ‘Cohesion Policy – a Key to Lithuania's Sustainable Development' involved social and economic partners, regional authorities, NGOs, and ministries that are actively participating in programming and implementing EU’s cohesion policy and the newly adopted Partnership Agreement with Lithuania. The agreement lays down the country's €6.4 billion investment strategy for the 2021-2027 period.

Commissioner Ferreira said: ‘Cohesion policy funding will guide Lithuania on the path to growth, becoming greener, digital, more innovative and socially more cohesive. The involvement of citizens and local stakeholders in the implementation of the investments is an asset to fully reap the benefits of cohesion policy funding.'

The launch event was the occasion to celebrate the work of EU-funded projects in the surrounding municipalities of Vilnius and in Kaunas, which were visited by the Commissioner.

The first visited project is a community-based home for children formerly living in Lithuanian childcare institutions; the project also acts as a day-care centre in the Elektrenai municipality. The home provides a good example of how the provision of community-based social services and investment in the necessary infrastructure pave the way to a new and better life for the children. It also shows how the spirit and the principles of the European Child Guarantee are implemented on the ground.

“The First Pancake”, a place with a culinary and social mission, also welcomed the Commissioner. Supported by the European Social Fund, this pancake restaurant shows how persons with disabilities can be received in the community and get in touch with the world of work. The project is also a part of the Lithuanian deinstitutionalisation reform.

The Vocational Training Centre in Motor Vehicle Repair and Wood Technologies in Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, was also visited. The center specialises in provision of vocational education and training to 1500 students – as well as adult learners – and uses state-of-the-art equipment, acquired with the help of EU funding.