Lithuania seeks to increase its population by one fifth in coming decade

Leading parties of Lithuania's ruling coalition signed a national multiparty agreement on Tuesday to attempt to reduce emigration in the country.

The ambitious agreement sets a goal to reduce emigration flows ratio from 18 percent to 9 percent in the next five years. All parties also agreed on the creation of a long-term national strategy to achieve a positive balance of emigration, remigration and migration.

The hope is that there would be 3.5 million residents living in Lithuania in 2025. The last time the country had a population close to that figure was in 2001 when there were 3.484 million people living in the country.

Reaching 3.5 million people would mean a population increase of around 20 percent in a decade. According to a flash estimate from Statistics Lithuania, the small Baltic country had a population of 2.904 million at the start of June, or 28,000 less than the same month a year ago.

"The current emigration volumes can have disastrous consequences on the Lithuanian nation," noted the parties signing the document.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius told journalists after the signing that the next step should be to implement an action plan and decide on what measures to take in the immediate future.

"I think these measures will help young people and those keen to leave to decide on staying and working here," added Butkevicius.

Rolandas Paksas, the leader of the Order and Justice party and ousted president of Lithuania, called for practical steps against emigration.

Meanwhile, opposition parties refrained from signing the document, criticizing the initiative as lacking clear measures to reduce emigration. According to Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania's opposition leader and former prime minister, the document is ridiculous.

"The agreement doesn't mention any measures, actions, nothing is said about stimulation of Lithuanian economy and creation of workplaces, although these are essential tasks to reduce emigration flows," Kubilius explained to Lietuvos Zinios, a daily newspaper, few days earlier.

Rising emigration flows in the country began after Lithuania joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. EU membership and free capital movement have prompted Lithuanians to look for better pay in Western Europe, particularly in Britain.

In recent years, however, the emigration trend has somewhat weakened. According to Statistics Lithuania, 36,600 residents left the country last year, 5.7 percent less than a year ago. Meanwhile, immigration increased by 3.7 percent, to 24,300.