In a recent statement to the press, Lithuania’s Prime Minister I. Ruginienė addressed proposals for strengthening regional governance, specifically the idea of establishing a separate Ministry of Regions. She highlighted the current financial tensions within the budget, emphasizing that amidst the need to prioritize employee wage increases, allocating funds to create a new ministry would not be a sensible or effective use of resources at this time.

Ruginienė pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior partially fulfills the leadership role in addressing regional issues and that the more rational approach would be to enhance the existing functions within this ministry. By transferring responsibilities related to regional matters to the Ministry of the Interior, the government can streamline operations and maintain budget control while still focusing on improving regional governance.

The confirmation of not establishing a separate Ministry of Regions comes after a statement by the Minister of Interior, Vladislavas Kondratovičius, at the end of October last year. Though strengthening regions remains a governmental priority, Kondratovičius noted that this can be effectively achieved through other means, suggesting that a foundational restructuring of the current governance framework might be a more pragmatic solution for addressing regional challenges.