Socio-economic analysis of European Union structural funds usage in the regions of Lithuania in 2005-2009

Regions are the subsystems of a state as an economic-social system. The level of integration of these subsystems into a unified national system is what a sustainable national economic development depends on. The aim of the article is to analyse the influence of the EU support on the development of Lithuanian regions. Currently, Lithuania has no such formation that would fully match the definition of a region, for example, would be an ethnographic and a recognised administrative unit at the same time. However, depending on the chosen aim of the study, we can distinguish the areas which more or less meet the criteria for the selected type of a region. The performed research of Lithuanian administrative units has revealed that it would be logical to distinguish 7 Lithuanian macro-regions, such criteria as convenient geographical location, efficiently developed infrastructure of communications, the centre of the region and the compact territory of the region must be taken into consideration. The present analysis of the country shows that the funds absorption has been the most even in the areas of information society and technical support. The biggest differentiation was observed in the area of preservation of cultural heritage and nature. The capital Vilnius is not the leader only in three areas. Whereas the country’s most important objects are situated exactly int eh largest and mode developed regions of the country (in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda), it is likely that this is one of the key reasons which determined the distribution of structural support in Lithuania. Absorption of funds is the most difficult in the area of environmental protection, whereas, businessmen use EU support most successfully