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1. How Youth policy is funded

2. What is funded?

3. Financial accountability

4. Use of EU Funds

Youth policy in Lithuania has more than one source of funding. Different policy areas and measures are funded from different sources and responsible ministries, which include: 

• national budget;

• municipal budgets (municipalities are responsible for youth work, social work, formal education system, local transport, hobby education);

• Ministry of Social Security and Labor budget;

• private initiatives (e.g. Tautos fondas);

• European funds (e.g. European Social Fund);

• other foreign funds (e.g. EEA Grants and Norway Grants);

• international fund (e.g. Lithuanian-Polish Youth Exchange Fund)

• other funds. 

Funds from the state budget and ministries are used to achieve different youth policy goals. A special budget is allocated to the national youth policy, financed from the national budget mainly through the Ministry of Social Security and Labor in several strategic directions.

Funding is used to implement international, national and regional youth policy goals. In some cases, the funding of youth policy measures is integrated with the funding of other measures, so the more precise scale of youth policy funding is higher than the main figures of appropriations presented here. The funding directions are provided in the Action plan of the National Youth Policy for 2023-2027:

1. Select and finance organizations organizing voluntary activities, provide them with methodological assistance, organize the implementation of the JST model in order to involve young people in voluntary activities.

2. Encouraging youth to participate in civic activities by funding youth organizations, youth initiatives and creating various forms of youth participation in civic activities.

3. To be implemented in 2014-2021. The measure "Mechanisms for strengthening social integration for children and young people with high-risk behavior and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds" financed by the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area.

4. Fund emotional (psychological) support services that provide emotional (psychological) support services over the phone.

5. To finance the projects of diaspora youth organizations through a competition, aimed at strengthening their activities, mobilizing communities, and creating new organizations.

6. To award scholarships (by competition) to young professionals living abroad, doing internships in Lithuania, in order to encourage them to return to Lithuania.

7. To ensure the administration of the Lithuanian-Polish Youth Exchange Fund and the organization of its activities.

8. Review and, as necessary, change the procedure for calculating the need for funds for the implementation of the youth policy function, established in the methodology for calculating funds for special targeted grants to municipal budgets.

9. To finance positions of career specialists in educational institutions.

10. etc.

Amounts and directions of state budget and ministry funding:

• Allocations from national budget to municipalities to implement national function "Youth rights protection" in 2016 were € 800 000, in 2023 – € 1 243 000, in 2024 - €1 255 000.

• Allocations  from the budget of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour:

1. Program Increasing employment: "Implement the youth guarantee initiative and other programs promoting youth employment" - in 2022 were € 5 050 000, in 2023 - € 450 000, in 2024 – € 450 000.

2. Program "Social mobilization (solidarity)": Implement youth policy measures at local, regional, national levels, and represent youth policy issues at the international level" - in 2022 were € 4 631 000, in 2023 – € 4 647 000, in 2024 – € 5 156 000:

   • Implement measures for youth policy: in 2024 – € 2 987 000.

   • To municipalities - Ensure the implementation of youth policy functions in municipalities: in 2022 were €1 200 000, in 2023 - €1 200 000, in 2024 - €1 255 000.

   • Create conditions for the activities of the Agency of Youth Affairs: in 2022 were €615 000, in 2023 – €613 000, in 2024 - €767 000.

   • To ensure the administration of the Youth Exchange Council of Lithuania and Ukraine and the organization of its activities: in 2024 – €100 000

   • To support the activities of foreign Lithuanian youth organizations aimed at fostering Lithuanianness and community spirit, cooperation between Lithuanians living in Lithuania and abroad, and consolidating the concept of global Lithuania in the field of social security and work: in 2022 were €47 000, in 2023 – €47 000, in 2024 - €47 000.

The laws of the Republic of Lithuania establish mandatory requirements concerning financial records of all state institutions and business entities. State institutions provide mandatory financial accountability reports once a year.

Municipalities submit to the Ministry of Finance sets of quarterly, half-yearly, nine-monthly and annual budget execution reports within the deadlines set by the Minister of Finance. The Ministry of Finance prepares a summary annual set of municipal budget execution reports, which it submits to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Resolution 2001, no. 543, paragraph 49).

Every year by May 15, the Ministry of Social Security and Labor submits to the Government a report on the implementation of the youth policy of the previous calendar year and recommendations on the implementation of the youth policy (Law 2023 no. IX-1871, paragraph 6).

The National Audit Office is the supreme public audit institution, which supervises the lawfulness of the management and use of public funds and assets as well as the execution of the state budget. It is the only institution in the European Union that performs the functions of the three institutions at the same time: the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), the Audit Authority (AA) for the European Union Investment and the Budget Policy Monitoring Authority (independent fiscal institution (IFI)).

Use of EU Funds

Part of the strategic goals in the youth policy is also financed from the European Union funds. The specific funds allocated to youth policy are unknown, but the total amount of money allocated in 2024-2026 from the EU for social security strategic purposes can be seen here:

1. Implement public education and non-discrimination training measures and train specialists with the funds of the European Union and other international financial support - €47 528 000.

2. To carry out national and international and EU program projects, studies, research European Union and other international financial support funds - €330 000.

3. Others.

In order to increase the opportunities of the unemployed, especially those with limited employment opportunities, unskilled, long-term, elderly and migrants, to return to the labor market, the project "Next stop - work" (Kita stotelė – darbas) will be implemented with the support of the European Union until June 30, 2026, during which learning support measures will be organized , so that individuals can acquire qualifications and competences that meet the needs of the labor market, establish or adapt measures for supporting mobility, supported employment and supporting workplaces in order to be able to find sustainable employment. Allocated funding - €119 759 953. Funds were used in 2023. – € 6 068 885.54 (Project number – No. 07-012-P-0001).

The "KarjerON" project, dedicated to increasing the employment opportunities of young unemployed people aged 18-29, financed by the support funds of the European Union, will be implemented until June 30, 2026. The regions of the project's activities are the Vilnius region and the Central and Western Lithuania (VVL) region. Allocated funding - €54 505 924. Funds were used in 2023. – €2 030 073 (Project number – No. 07-013-P-0001).

In order to achieve the goal of "Developing a system of timely and effective work with youth", the project "JUNGTYS" financed by the European Social Fund will be launched in the 1st quarter of 2024 and will last for 4 years.

In April 1 2023 The European Social Fund Agency, together with its partners, started implementing the project "Be free - don't be addicted!" (Būk laisvas – nebūk priklausomas!) financed by EU structural funds, aimed at the psychosocial rehabilitation and reintegration of persons addicted to psychoactive substances. The project is planned to be completed by March 27, 2028. Duration - 60 months. The amount of project financing is €15 954 246.