Seimas to start deliberating OECD accession agreement

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė submitted it for ratification in early June. She signed the agreement during the OECD Ministerial Council meeting in Paris in late May.

On Wednesday, the agreement will be presented by Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius.

Following its ratification, Lithuania will become the OECD’s 36th member country. Lithuania started accession talks three years ago and finished them in April. The country was officially invited to join the economic organization on May 3.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the country’s OECD membership will cost 2.5–2.5 million euros per year. Supporters say Lithuania’s OECD membership will make the Baltic country more attractive to investments and should also promote the creation of jobs.

Lithuania lagged its neighbors in the accession process as Poland became an OECD member in 1996, followed by Estonia in 2010 and Latvia in 2016.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international organization operating on the principles of democracy and market economy. It was founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. In 1948, the OECD originated as the Organization for European Economic Co-operation to help administer the Marshall Plan after WWII.