'Baltic tiger' roaring louder

  • 2004-02-05
  • From wire reports
VILNIUS - The Lithuanian government announced Jan. 28 that the economy grew a staggering 8.9 percent in 2003, outpacing its own expectations and putting the Baltic country in front of the pack of 10 countries joining the EU in May.

Lithuania's statistics department announced that the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2003 grew 10.6 percent, led by construction, industry and trade.
"These figures were a little bit unexpected even for us," Finance Minister Dalia Grybauskaite said, adding that she expected Lithuania to maintain its growth this year.
"I would say that a 7.5 percent growth of gross domestic product is a moderate projection for 2004," said Grybauskaite, who on Jan. 28 was also nominated as her country's representative at the European Commission.
"But in general we laid the background for these results in 2001-2002 through tight fiscal discipline and tax reform, including a cut of corporate tax," she commented.
Corporate tax in Lithuania - 15 percent - currently is one of the lowest in Europe.
Algirdas Semeta, the head of Lithuania's statistics department, said that 2003 proved to be the best yet for the Baltic's biggest economy.
"Taking into account the macroeconomic indicators, last year was the best for the Lithuanian economy since the restoration of independence. The growth was high even against the relatively high comparative basis, as GDP had risen by 6.8 percent in 2002," Semata said.
In 2002 Lithuanian gross domestic product grew by 6.7 percent.
According to growth forecasts published by the European Commission in October, Lithuania, a country of 3.5 million people, was given the best growth prospects of the EU's current and future members for 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Grybauskaite, who said she would like to be given responsibility for economic and financial policy at the European Commission, downplayed worries that things may change after she leaves for the commission's offices in Brussels.
"The Lithuanian economy is now on the right track, and it will stay on it at least for a year and a half," she said. "With EU funds coming at the end of this year, we could even witness an additional boost."
(AFP)