Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius (left) and President Dalia Grybauskaitė outlined the government's 2010 agenda but were light on specific details.

VILNIUS — The Lithuanian president and prime minister met Monday morning to lay out the government agenda for 2010, emphasizing economic recovery.

There was widespread speculation in the Lithuanian media that a shake-up in the prime minister’s cabinet would be announced; however, this was not happen. Instead, the prime minister and president emphasized that the cash-strapped Lithuanian government fight unemployment, tackle corruption, turning the hard-hit economy around and getting back on track for euro adoption. No specific measures to implement these policies were mentioned, though.

“I want the government to think about the country and what we must do in this situation responsibly and seek results — more work and less talk. This is what I have asked and what I demand,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė told the press after the meeting.

The president defined eight priority areas where the Government would have to effect radical changes this year.

Since unemployment is a major problem faced by Lithuania today, the government has been requested to work out a clear strategy to create jobs, support people with initiative for engaging in small business development, provide them with an opportunity to receive cheaper loans and gain access to EU funds, ease bureaucratic restrictions for businesses, and improve export conditions.

The government is also required to ensure fair competition and to control monopolistic prices in all sectors of the economy. “We must curb monopoly appetites and ensure that people are offered accessible prices for drugs, electricity, heating, and foods,” the president underlined.

She pointed out that 2010 should be a year of intolerance for corruption and urged the government to place a special focus on transparency in public procurement and on anti-corruption measures in health care and construction.

Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius echoed these proposals, reiterating that while last year was about surviving the crisis, this year will focus on recovering.

“Last year our main goal was to maintain financial stability. This year we intend to focus  on reducing unemployment and creating jobs. Even after the economy begins to grow again, unemployment will still be increasing for some time, so it is here that there should be government and local attention. This will help address the alarming and growing problem of emigration,” Kubilius said in a statement to the press. “We believe that the country can overcome the stagnation of last year only through joint efforts.”