With a population of 3.4 million inhabitants and an area of 65,000 square kilometres, Lithuania, with a GDP of €17.9 billion, is the largest and southernmost of the three Baltic countries. Its rapid transition to a market economy and its location between Poland, the northern states of the EU-15 and, to the east, Russia and Belarus, offer great opportunities, particularly as a logistics hub.
After establishing initial contacts in March 2004, the CNR was appointed in June of the same year as an expert within the framework of a Community twinning contract on market observation mechanisms. The knowledge acquired on this occasion, combined with the contribution of a correspondent engaged by the CNR, has enabled the following lessons to be drawn.