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After the announced results of the LPK presidential elections, V. Janulevičius agreed to speak to Delfi.
– He has been elected President of LPK at the most convenient and best moment, so to speak. The economy and industry face serious challenges as a result of the pandemic. How do you evaluate this era?
– Time is very difficult and the fact that we see that there are challenges between companies and the public sector. There is some friction and we see it not only in the investigation by our colleagues, which was a month ago about the Lithuanian Business Confederation (LVK), the possible arrest of one of our colleagues.
It is not the best time, but on the other hand we have to go down that path, because if there is separate cooperation between states and companies in the world and in the European Union (EU) and there are separate confederations, we will probably not invent anything new. We have to go that way. .
Businesses are the part of society that pays the most taxes. Of course, politicians often forget where that money comes from and where it comes from and always want to be those messiahs who only share it. We understand that wish, but keep in mind that sometimes it is not necessary and worth sacrificing that sheep, here I am talking about Lithuanian exports, which are strong, are included in the seven EU countries in terms of exports and industry.
The period is complicated, because the desire of Lithuania, such a small country, to have several large confederations and a lot of associations, I think, is not very logical, because they are voices and finances, and there is no one-way approach to economic development. proposed.
Our desire is to consolidate some of those positive-minded confederations, unite in the same direction to save costs, refine interests that cater to the entire business community, from manufacturers, merchants to investors, and make that voice important and consistent.
– Will the consolidation of different business associations be the main task of your four-year term?
– Basically, probably yes. This is one of those tasks. Another is to increase the GDP for the industry of 20%. up to 23 percent. This is the most difficult part, because it depends not only on us, but also on relations with the state and with finances.
The third is access to capital. Today it is poor and there is a desire to make Lithuania as accessible to capital as other major countries. To date, according to the conclusions of the European Commission, we are in last place in terms of access to capital, in other words, the number of applications submitted for financing and the number rejected. This is not appropriate.
– As for Mr. Robert Dargis, he led the confederation for two terms and there are likely to be some mistakes and setbacks. I won’t ask him to name them, but I would ask him what he would have done differently, he talked a lot about the green course program, maybe he should have done it sooner?
– You see, frankly, I can’t even say much criticism.
As for the green course, it is unsustainable to speak when it is subsidized by the existing industry, which is why that attitude was, and was, the period when it was subsidized and subsidized by the EU as a whole, but the future is there because it is cheaper than fossil fuels and there is no need to prove anything to anyone here.
We have reached the level where we can now generate added value from energy resources in Lithuania, without fossil fuels. This is probably the highest value added, because at that time that money was created, or that value added, remains in Lithuania. Of course, or we can buy the same electricity somewhere, as if it were cheaper in the first year, but that price will be different and will depend on something.
True independence begins with energy independence, and I think very little attention has been paid here, but not here to Robert (Dargis-ed.), But I would say to governments that have worked up to then. Because why hasn’t this been done until now and we are only doing it now, even though we have been an independent state for 30 years?
I frankly say that I have no criticism of my colleague. You asked the question, I was wondering where the problem was. He is both a businessman and a diplomat, but has maintained an excellent balance with different governments. We know that we have moved towards transparent cooperation, we are going to create greater added value within our country, and, of course, we are in favor of greater interaction with other EU countries.
– What are the main problems you see today related to the business environment? It is no secret that the tax system and decisions very often change with us. Yesterday, the Seimas approved a decision on the sale of alcohol in outdoor cafes, although some time ago it had banned the sale of alcohol. Do you think such solutions are not a threat to sustainable business?
– Any rapid change, even if the intensities are positive, presupposes a state of instability for the business. And that instability manifests itself in a lack of investment.
People pause, accumulate money, but if we don’t spend money, there are uncollected taxes, the engine of the economy doesn’t work. If there is a desire for people to feel safe, spend money, and therefore help other areas, all those changes are particularly noticeable.
Today, according to the laws, Lithuania does not look too bad for investments, we are quite successful in the middle among European countries, but we can really look much better.
– Regarding taxes, do you think they should be reduced for business?
– It is easy to say that companies should reduce them. We would like them to be smaller.
The bottom line is that if we look at the public sector, where there is still a lot of room for optimization, then perhaps we should not reduce those taxes, but increase the value added in Lithuania in the future, but today I believe that to encourage investment, taxes will reduce , because it would give an impulse to invest here and create in our country, which in a few years will be reflected in people’s income.
– Recently, we also heard the idea of establishing a state bank, the first steps have been taken. Do you think it will affect or benefit the industry, business?
– If the conditions will be the same for everyone as for commercial banks now on the market, then, of course.
Competition is an incentive to move forward and reduce costs, taxes and increase access to capital. If there were a level playing field, we would, of course, be in favor of maximizing the supply of access to capital.
– Robotization, automation: this is probably inevitable. How do you see the situation? Isn’t it the case that over time more workers will have to be fired?
– This is a distorted philosophy. Let’s look at Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, which have the highest amount of automation. There, the unemployment rate is the lowest, but with the same number of people we can triple. Here is the real robotics. It is not that we reduce people, but with the same number of people we will triple, which means that our costs will decrease, we will have more access to markets and we will export more.
– In response to current problems, do you think the suspicions against the president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation (LVK), Valdas Sutkas, did not harm the reputation of companies and businessmen across the country?
– You see, a tablespoon of tar spoils a barrel of honey, it always happens. If we look at the percentage, as in the business community, we certainly have no more possible crimes than in any other group, in terms of the same politicians, etc.
I believe that the presumption of innocence must always be maintained, for which we have law enforcement agencies, because a person is convicted beforehand when perhaps no one has done anything. There is a court, there are responsible institutions that will evaluate this.
– Will the point in business make it more difficult for you, as LPK President, to communicate with the right people?
– It is more difficult to communicate due to the incident, but there must be that presumption of innocence and it is not possible to measure everything in one shoe.
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