About EQUAL
In addition EQUAL will support new ways for the social and vocational integration of asylum seekers.
The priorities selected by Lithuania are the outcome of an analysis of inequality and discrimination on the labour market, identification of national and EU employment policy priorities and consultation procedures. Disadvantaged groups and main reasons of inequality and discrimination in relation to the labour market were specified, taking into consideration the main strategic employment policy documents: the 2001 – 2004 Programme on Increasing Employment in the Republic of Lithuania, Joint Assessment Paper on Priorities in Employment Policy of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Joint Social Inclusion Memorandum alongside with the Single Programming Document currently drafted.
Consultations were held with interested institutions and organizations supportive in identifying the Lithuanian priorities. The consultation procedure started in June 2003. Since then the interested institutions and organizations have been part of a dialogue. A joint PHARE Twinning project ‘Preparation for Community initiative programmes (SPP III)’ and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour Seminar – Conference on “How can the EQUAL programme contribute to solutions on our problems?” was held in July. The Conference was organized to facilitate broad representation in the consultation process – institutions representing major disadvantaged groups were invited together with representatives from policy-making and implementing institutions, NGOs as well as social partners.
Lithuania has proposed the following EQUAL themes:
- Theme A: Facilitating access and return to the labour market for those who have difficulty in being integrated or reintegrated into a labour market which must be open to all.
- Theme G: Reconciling family and professional life, as well as the re-integration of men and women who have left the labour market, by developing more flexible and effective forms of work organisation and support services.
- Theme I: Helping the integration of asylum seekers.
The ESF contribution for the selected priority themes is distributed as follows:
| Theme A: | 69 percent |
| Theme G: | 20 percent |
| Theme I: | 3 percent |
8 percent of the total amount of the budgetary means for the EQUAL programme is allocated for Technical Assistance.
Lithuania, being a country of Objective 1, may receive ESF assistance for 75 percent of eligible total expenditures within EQUAL. The share of the public national co-funding is 25 percent of eligible expenditures and consists of financial contributions from the national budget.
For the implementation of the EQUAL programme in Lithuania a total budget of 15,821 MEUR has been assigned. This amount is based on a contribution of 3,955 MEUR from the national budget and 11,866 MEUR from the European Social Fund.
The Managing Authority of the Community Initiative EQUAL is the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.
The Managing Authority has charged the European Social Fund Agency with the tasks of National Support Structure.
The implementation of EQUAL in Lithuania is divided according to the timetable below:
| Activity | Milestone | Dates |
| Call for proposals | 19 April 2004 | |
| Final date for applications | 16 July 2004 | |
| Preparation (Action 1) | Development Partnership Agreement including Transnational Partnership Agreement | 1 November 2004 – April-May 2005 |
| Development and test (Action 2) | Milestones defined in the DPA | Start before 1 June 2005 – until 31 December 2007 |
| Validation, dissemination, mainstreaming (Action 3) | Mainstreaming milestones defined in the workplan for action 3 | * 1 June 2006 – until 30 June 2008 |
| End of the funding for DPs | 30 June 2008 (by the latest) |
*or earlier if all requirements/milestones are fulfilled
