Legal Framework of State Formation in Lithuania: A Historical Comparison Pre- and Post-EU Integration

Abstract

The accession of new countries to the European Union (EU) in May 2004 marked a qualitatively new stage in the integration processes both in Europe and worldwide. Analysing the positive and negative phenomena accompanying the enlargement of the EU is significant for countries considering or potentially joining the EU in the future. This analysis is crucial when forming long-term economic policies and deciding their integration directions. The experience of the Republic of Lithuania in studying the impact of external political situations on the processes of integration into the European community is seen as illustrative for Ukraine due to shared initial characteristics and historical proximity between the states. The article analyses the features of Lithuania’s integration into the European community. A significant normative and systemic gap between the periods studied in the context of the legislative field is demonstrated. The study aims to analyse the dynamics of the normative-legal framework in developing European integration and state-building processes in Lithuania from 1990 to 2021. The research identifies which countries had the most significant influence on the state-building process in Lithuania after 1990 during the establishment and development of democratisation. Fundamental concepts of state-building in Lithuania during the studied period and the corresponding normative-legal framework of the process are highlighted. It is established that Lithuania’s accession, despite a solid societal push for integration into the Western political and economic culture, had several distinctive features related to constitutional institutions, significantly impacting the resolution of issues between the government and EU institutions.