Place and Role of the Klaipeda Region in Economy of Lithuania

In the focus of economic research in recent years, fall more and more regions at the junction of the East-West economic system, EU regions with deviations over 25% of the European average and the coastal regions, which in 2011 accounted for 40,8% of the total population of the EU-27. Such interest to these regions is not random because exactly at the junction of regions, as in the junction of different sciences, identifies and opens up new mechanisms of interaction which could be tested in new non-standard approaches directed on strengthening of their competitiveness. In EU context population distribution on maritime coastal regions basins is the following: in the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea lives most of all the population from all inhabitants of coastal areas – 36,0%, in the North-Eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean – 29,4%, at the coast of the North Sea – 20,6%, Baltic – 10,9%, and at the coast of the Black Sea and in Outermost Regions – 3,1%. Lithuania, along with such countries as Romania, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovenia is among the countries where the share of the population living in coastal areas is less than 15%. At the same time, for such countries as Sweden, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and Denmark this percentage is over 80, and for other countries varies from 32 to 74%, in particular for Italy 66%. Coastline have 23 of the 28 EU states. This study focuses on the role and place of the coastal region of Lithuania - Klaipeda region in the overall economy of the country. Formal coastline in Lithuania is 99 km or about 8% of the total length of the border, as opposed to 36% (498 km) in Latvia and 12,5% (440 km) in Poland. Since the Lithuanian segment of the Curonian Spit (about 60 km) as well as on the territories around Palanga and between Palanga and Šventoji located only recreation areas, they affect the economic performance of the region only in the recreation and tourism which on the coast is seasonal. Therefore Lithuanian stable economically active coastline is still much smaller and makes not more than 15-20 km, concentrating around Klaipeda and on an interval from Šventoji to Butinge. In this regard, having only one commercial port of Klaipeda and specialized port only on oil pumping in Butinge, Lithuania unfavorably differs from other neighboring countries, which may have a greater positive impact on the development of coastal areas and increase their competitiveness, which along with metropolitan regions are most commonly the engines of the economy throughout the country. Is no exception in this line and the Klaipeda region in Lithuania. Research methodology is based on a comparative evaluation of Klaipeda region compared with other regions of Lithuania. To prove the role and weight of the coastal regions in the overall economy of the country, different authors use different quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess their impact on coastal as well as to be compared with them regions. There is therefore noted a big role of clustering to increase competitiveness, efficiency and dynamic development as the industrial and services sectors as well territories. Through the use of two groups of cluster analysis - a divide and merge methodology for clustering and also the Ward's method, which gives out algorithm of clustered territories for an assessment of distances between clusters, was shown and analyzed the role of relationships and mutual influence of the coastal region with other regions of Lithuania. Suggested in this work the methodology can significantly specify directions of interaction between regions of Lithuania to enhance the overall competitiveness of the Lithuanian economy and create products and services with high added value.