CHAPTER III. Political Environment
Lithuania has very good bilateral relations with the U.S., and the Lithuanian government and Parliament generally support American business interests. The current President is a Lithuanian-American who enjoys great popularity with the Lithuanian electorate. Their parliamentary system is vigorous, however, the governing coalitions can be quite tenuous which results in frequent personnel changes at the cabinet level. The United States strongly supports Lithuania's efforts to join European and Trans-Atlantic institutions. Lithuania has made notable progress towards membership in the WTO and the EU and hopes to join NATO in the future. While the Lithuanian Government and all major political parties support a free-market system, there are still visible traces of the Soviet methodology and regulatory traditions at the lower levels of bureaucracy.
