Lithuania has launched the Funding Freeway, a fast-track framework that enables strategic initiatives — from defence vegetation to knowledge centres — to interrupt floor in months fairly than years, providing 0% company tax and streamlined approvals in what officers name Europe’s quickest funding regime
Lithuania has launched a radical fast-track system for strategic funding, permitting large-scale initiatives to maneuver from resolution to building in as little as three months in a change officers say will make the nation Europe’s quickest location for industrial improvement.
The brand new framework, generally known as the Funding Freeway, took impact on 1 November 2025 and is designed to take away long-standing bureaucratic boundaries in territorial planning and building allowing. The initiative allows traders to start constructing instantly after submitting a building discover, whereas formal allowing runs in parallel, and to hold out work in phases as designs are finalised.
In accordance with the nation’s Ministry of the Financial system and Innovation, the reforms might halve pre-construction instances throughout all main initiatives, decreasing the standard 36-month course of to round 19 months.
In Lithuania’s seven Free Financial Zones, the place planning is already full, initiatives might start inside 9 months as an alternative of two years. Defence initiatives, recognized as a nationwide precedence, will transfer even sooner — from 36 months down to only three months in non-urbanised areas and ten months in cities.
“The brand new guidelines make Lithuania an much more investor-friendly nation, the place main initiatives might be launched with out delays,” Edvinas Grikšas, Minister of the Financial system and Innovation, stated. “Whereas group involvement and environmental affect assessments stay integral to venture implementation, the initiative ensures sooner selections and clearer processes. We’re sending a transparent message to world traders: Lithuania doesn’t simply welcome funding – we’ve got constructed the infrastructure to make it occur sooner than anyplace else within the area.”
Past slicing timelines, the Funding Freeway offers qualifying traders with a set of economic and operational advantages. Eligible initiatives can obtain 0% company tax for as much as 20 years, are assigned a devoted case supervisor from Make investments Lithuania, and acquire entry to state land by way of non-auction leases and pre-designated strategic websites.
The framework additionally streamlines migration procedures for worldwide specialists, accelerating visas and work permits, and contains cooperation with universities to create tailor-made coaching programmes aligned to traders’ expertise necessities.
Initiatives in sectors similar to cleantech, knowledge centres and defence can qualify in the event that they meet funding and employment thresholds. Customary standards are a €20 million capital funding and 150 new jobs (or 20 for manufacturing initiatives) maintained for at the very least 5 years. In Vilnius, the place prices and density are larger, the thresholds rise to €30 million and 200 jobs (or 20 for manufacturing).
Defence initiatives have decrease entry necessities: investments of round €1.5 million and at the very least 20 workers for 3 years can qualify in the event that they handle pressing nationwide safety wants, as decided by the Ministry of Nationwide Defence.
“Lithuania’s defence sector represents a vital strategic precedence, and we see super potential for development,” Elijus Čivilis, Normal Supervisor of Make investments Lithuania, added. “With world-class capabilities in lasers, drones, semiconductors, and different superior applied sciences already established right here, we’re prepared to draw not simply trade giants like Rheinmetall, but in addition progressive smaller firms.”
READ MORE: ‘Dominican Republic positions itself as Caribbean hub for sustainable commerce and funding‘. With historic development in each exports and international direct funding, supported by structural reforms and progressive instruments such because the Single Funding Window, the nation is presenting itself as a strategic companion for Europe and the broader world.
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