Lithuania - AI Development Action Plan

Overview

The "Action Plan for the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Lithuania 2023–2026" is a national implementation roadmap prepared for the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and finalised in August 2022. The Plan sets out three core objectives—ecosystem development, sectoral adoption and innovation acceleration—and enumerates targeted measures for each. It is intended to translate strategic ambitions into concrete activities (data initiatives, compute access, talent programs, financial support, public sector pilots) and to coordinate institutional responsibilities across ministries, agencies and the innovation ecosystem. The Plan is publicly available from the Ministry's AI strategy pages and the published full text PDF (Ministry of Economy and Innovation: Strategy & Action Plan) and the official PDF (Lietuvos DI technologijų plėtros veiksmų planas 2023-2026 (PDF)).

Definitions

The Plan adopts the EU-oriented definition of AI and related terms. "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" refers to systems that demonstrate intelligent behaviour through environmental analysis and autonomous decision-making; "AI ecosystem" comprises the private sector, public institutions, academia and supporting infrastructure (data, compute, standards); "AI components" refers to models, datasets, toolkits and services (including Lithuanian-language models and tools) deemed strategic for national deployment; and "high-risk AI" is used consistent with evolving EU terminology, indicating AI used in critical or rights-sensitive contexts (e.g., healthcare diagnostics, biometric identification, transportation safety).

Governance and Institutional Framework

The Plan establishes a coordination and governance architecture to steer implementation and monitor progress. It proposes formation of a DI Development Council (as an advisory/coordination body) and enhanced capacities inside the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, additional positions within the Innovation Agency to manage implementation, and assigning market surveillance and contact point functions to the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) where appropriate. The Plan describes roles for public agencies, research institutions and industry stakeholders and recommends an inter-institutional coordination mechanism (including regular reporting to the Ministry). The governance approach combines: (1) central coordination and strategic oversight; (2) delegated implementation to specialised agencies; and (3) multi-stakeholder engagement (private sector, universities, clusters, NGOs).

Key Focus Areas

The Plan's activities are clustered under three objectives and multiple priority measures. First, to develop the ecosystem it prioritises: (a) strategic data initiatives and guidance for data collection and preparation for AI training; (b) access to national and international high-performance computing (HPC)/cloud resources for research and industry; (c) talent pipelines via apprenticeships, reskilling, diaspora engagement and university-industry programs; (d) financial instruments targeted at early-stage AI ventures (pre-seed/seed support) and scaled grants for compute or data preparation; and (e) a coordination mechanism (DI Plėtros taryba / DI development council). Second, to accelerate adoption across sectors it proposes: (a) incentives and subsidies for SMEs to adopt AI (including diagnostic consultations and test funding); (b) public-sector modernization pilots using AI to improve service quality; and (c) a catalog of core AI components and vetted suppliers to streamline procurement and integration. Third, to spur innovation it recommends: (a) sandboxes/testbeds and a pilot regulatory experimentation environment; (b) international partnerships and joint R&D projects; (c) cross-disciplinary platforms for knowledge exchange; and (d) removal of administrative barriers hindering innovation. Concern for Lithuanian-language resources is explicit: the Plan allocates support to create language datasets and language models.

Implementation Framework

Implementation is presented as a matrix of measures, lead implementers, partners, timelines and indicators. The Plan identifies the Ministry of Economy and Innovation as lead coordinator, with execution delegated to the Innovation Agency, Research & Technology bodies, and sectoral ministries. Activities include: drafting guidance on strategic data stewardship; financial instruments design (grants/guarantees); procurement of shared compute capacity; establishing talent programs with universities; and piloting public-sector AI projects with monitoring metrics. The Plan recommends mid-term impact assessments and iterative updates. It also suggests establishing operational roles within agencies (new posts in Innovation Agency and Ministry) to ensure continuity, and identifies private sector partners and research institutions as delivery partners. The Plan's implementation approach stresses both centrally funded interventions and co-funded public-private initiatives (EIMIN Strategy & Plan).

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Plan prescribes scheduled impact assessments: a mid-term review (recommended in 2024 Q3) and a comprehensive evaluation in 2026 Q4 to inform the next planning cycle. It outlines proposed indicators (adoption rates, number of AI startups financed, compute-hours allocated to research, public sector pilot outcomes, talent trained, Lithuanian-language AI assets created) and requires regular reporting from implementing agencies to the coordinating body. The Plan recommends public consultations as part of the evaluation cycle and mandates adjustments to activities based on findings. The Plan also calls for impact-oriented KPIs and tracking to measure ecosystem maturity and the broader economic effect of interventions.

Penalties, Liability, and Appeals

The Plan itself is a strategic and operational framework and does not establish new criminal penalties or fines. It envisages that any compliance, liability or enforcement provisions will be applied through existing sectoral legislation, public procurement rules and forthcoming regulatory acts (national adaptations of EU-level regimes). The document flags that where AI deployment intersects with data protection, safety or consumer protection rules, applicable sanctions from those frameworks will continue to apply. The Plan suggests establishing administrative arrangements for complaints and an appeals mechanism within sectoral regulators when pilot projects or procurement decisions are contested.

Relationship to Other Instruments

The Plan explicitly situates itself relative to previous national instruments (the 2018–2019 Lithuanian AI Strategy) and EU-level documents (EU coordinated plan on AI, and the evolving EU AI regulatory proposal). It is intended to operationalize strategic recommendations and to connect national grant instruments (e.g., recovery and resilience measures) with long-term ecosystem measures. The Plan also refers to national digitalization initiatives and the Recovery & Resilience Plan as complementary funding and delivery vehicles.

International Alignment

International alignment is a core design principle. The Plan aligns terminology and high-level objectives with EU communications and coordinated plans and commits Lithuania to follow EU regulatory developments. It prioritises international research cooperation, cross-border R&D projects, and participation in EU infrastructure initiatives. The Plan also foresees that market surveillance, conformity assessment and cross-border contact point functions will be coordinated with EU counterparts to ensure compliance harmonization, and to benefit from shared testbeds and standardization activities in the EU.

Implementation Timeline

Sources and References