ES finansavimo poveikis regionų valdysenai Lietuvoje ; The impact of EU funding on regional governance

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of EU funding on regional govern-ance of Tauragė and Vilnius. The term "regional governance" is a rather new phenomenon within the governance dis-course, therefore it is significant to analyse and delve into the principles of regional governance in order to ensure the economic and social growth of regions not only within Lithuania, but also within the whole European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU). It has been established that regional gov-ernance is based on the principles of cohesion policy in Lithuania. One of the cohesion policy princi-ples is that EU provides funding to ensure economic growth and competitiveness of regions. In Lithuania, EU funding policy is implemented by the Government and ministries, which act under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council. Within regions, the regional governance is implemented through the adoption of regional development plans, which are affected by EU funding. The research is divided in two stages in order to elucidate and consolidate the findings. The decisions made throughout the period from 2016 to 2019 by Tauragė and Vilnius regions are analyzed in the first stage of the research, and it showed that there are challenges regarding the EU requirements for the absorption of funding. EU funding has an impact on the change of decisions made by the Development Council on the adjustment of regional programs for 2014-2020. The in-terview carried out in the second stage consolidates the findings from the first stage. It supports the fact that the regional governance in Tauragė and Vilnius is strictly formed in accordance with EU funding. The agenda and adopted decisions by regional development councils fully depend on EU funding. A drastic conclusion was reached that if EU funding was discontinued, the regional gov-ernance in Tauragė and Vilnius would cease to function.