OREANDA-NEWS. The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership.

On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions and processes for its accession. This follows the decision taken by the OECD Council on 9 April 2015 to open accession discussions with Lithuania.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said: “This roadmap charts the way for Lithuania to get closer to the OECD, and underlines our Organisation’s commitment to broaden its reach and its position as a global standard setter. The accession process that Lithuania will go through is a transformational opportunity which will already begin to improve the lives of their people and will serve as a catalyst for reform. I am sure that our member countries will also learn a lot from Lithuania’s experience and best practices.”

Lithuanian officials will now begin to engage with OECD Committees composed of experts drawn from Member countries in areas such as: Investment, Bribery in International Business Transactions, Corporate Governance, Financial Markets, Insurance & Private Pensions, Competition, Tax, Environment, Chemicals, Public Governance, Regulatory Policy, Statistics, Economics, Education, Employment, Labour & Social Affairs, Health, Trade, Export Credits, Fisheries, Science & Technology, Digital Economy Policy and Consumer Policy.

The first step in the process will see Lithuania submit an Initial Memorandum setting out its position on approximately 260 OECD legal instruments (see www.oecd.org/acts). This will in turn lead to a series of technical reviews by OECD experts, who will collect further information from Lithuania through questionnaires and fact-finding missions.

As part of the accession process, the OECD will evaluate Lithuania’s implementation of the Organisation’s policies, practices and legal instruments. Its Committees may make recommendations for adjustments to legislation, policy or practice to bring Lithuania closer to OECD instruments or best practices, serving as a catalyst for reform.

There is no deadline for completion of the accession processes. Final accession will depend on the candidate country’s capacity to adapt and adjust to meet the Organisation’s standards. Once all the Committees give their opinion, a final decision will be taken by OECD Member countries in the governing Council.

Created in 1961 as the successor to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which administered the Marshall Plan at the end of WWII, OECD serves as an economic, environmental and social policy forum for its 34 member countries, as well as partners worldwide to address global challenges.

The OECD’s current Members are: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.