VILNIUS - "Your country, and many of your neighbours have lived through a period of extremely rapid transition," Mr. Somavia said as he opened the Conference with H.E. Arturas Paulauskas, Acting President of the Republic of Lithuana.
"Lithuania and the new members of the EU are jumping onto a big and fast moving train," Mr. Somavia said, adding that "the rest of the world has much to learn from the way Europe is evolving the open method of coordination and linking employment to economic and social policies."
The meeting gathered high-level representatives of workers, employers and governments from the Nordic and Baltic States, and was the first of a series of national and regional meetings to discuss the follow-up to the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization.
Taking up the recommendations of the report, tripartite representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia discussed how to shape globalization for the better, and the central role Europe has to play in this.
Mr. Somavia referred to the recent accession to membership of the European Union of the Baltic States and Poland as a chance for the region "to shape its destiny in a new political framework.
I believe a key part of this new project will be how Europe works together to create more and better jobs."
He added that the EU strategy bore a strong resemblance to the ILO Decent Work Agenda, and said "Europe must play a key leadership role in shaping a fair globalization. The blending of the innovative power of the market with the security of social solidarity is a global project."
Lithuania joined the ILO in 1921, thus becoming one of the earliest members of the Organization. It rejoined in 1991, when it became an independent state again after 51 years as a Republic within the USSR.