Lithuania is currently exploring options to set up a regional level of local government in order to boost progress in different parts of the country and ensure synchronized development throughout the Republic. The questions they face in this process are related to potential institutional barriers, striking a balance between the competencies at the municipal and the regional level, solutions regarding the need to engage knowledgeable and skillful staff at the regional level, whether to leverage all interests at regional level to strategically attract investment projects or leave them at the lower level where municipalities compete, shifting focus from „municipal thinking“ to „regional thinking”.

To help address all these questions, CoE’ Centre of Expertise for Good Governance is organising a Peer Review in Vilnius from 4 to 6 December 2019. Peers from the UK, Slovakia, Slovenia and Iceland are exchanging their comparative experience and expert knowledge with their Lithuanian counterparts. In addition, three international CoE experts will also facilitate the meetings by presenting the wider European perspective and CoE’s standards related to the issues raised.