Membership in the European Union has helped Lithuania to achieve real opportunities to make use of the Structural support funds to rural development and fishery and, together with the other EU member states, strive for one of the essential objectives of EU,  that is economic and social cohesion. The support of Structural funds to Lithuania is presently administered following the provisions of Single programming document (SPD) of Lithuania for the years 2004 -2006. Priority 4 is given to rural development and fishery in the strategy, contained in the SPD, according to which approximately LTL 660 million is foreseen to be allocated from the Guidance Part of the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Financial Instrument for Fishery and funds of the Republic of Lithuania in 2004–2006.

The EU structural funds support to agriculture and fishery will help to improve holding structures, diversify agricultural activities, modernize enterprises, fleets, create conditions for the development and adaptation of private forestry rural areas.

Under SPD structural changes in the agricultural sector are supported from the EU structural support funds, the production meeting the EU quality standards and farming methods, which will help Lithuania’s agricultural products to compete in the European Union are encouraged.

The EU structural funds support can be used by agricultural enterprises, cooperative enterprises (cooperatives), farmers, rural residents, rural communities, state institutions, and private enterprises, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, fishery, aquaculture, fish processing enterprises, fishers, ship owners and other organizations, belonging to the agricultural sector.

The EU structural support funds are aimed at supporting the agricultural sector projects, corresponding to the priorities, measures and supportable spheres of activity, specified in the SPD. The requests to obtain EU structural funds support are submitted to National Paying Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture after the announcement of invitation to submit the applications in observance of the application submission conditions and within the time periods, set by the National Paying Agency. The agricultural and fishery sector can get the EU structural support funds aid according to the following 4 priority measures and supportable spheres of activity, specified in the SPD:

1. Investment in Agricultural Holdings;
2. Setting up of Young Farmers;
3. Improving processing and marketing of agricultural products;
4. Promoting the adaptation and development of rural areas:
   4.1.    Sphere of activities “Water management in agriculture”;
   4.2      Sphere of activities “Redistribution of plots of land”; 
   4.3.     Sphere of activities “Consultations to agricultural holdings”; 
   4.4.     Sphere of activities “Development and diversification of agricultural and adjacent economic activity sectors for the multiple activities and alternative income”; 
   4.5.     Sphere of activities “Promoting rural tourism and crafts”;
5. Forestry;
6. Leader + type measure;
7. Training;
8. The activities, related with the fishery fleet:
   8.1     “Scrapping of fishery ships”;
   8.2     “Modernization of fishery ships”
9. Development and security of water resources, aquaculture, fishery port equipment, processing and marketing and fishery in inner waters;
10. Other fishery related activities;