defence

Lithuania’s ambition to boost national defence spending and defence capabilities must not come at the expense of social policy, says President Gitanas Nausėda.

Some people fear that the new US administration may withdraw its troops from the Baltic States, but Chief of Defence of Lithuania General Raimundas Vaikšnoras assures the public that there is no change in military terms, yet NATO countries in Europe must devote more attention to defence funding.

Lithuania’s State Defence Council convened on Wednesday, 26 February, and president’s chief national security adviser Marius Česnulevičius told the media afterwards that there are no new threats facing Lithuania.

The Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) is ready to back the Government’s initiatives on higher defence funding, despite the havoc wreaked by the Nemunas Dawn chair, says party leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas, former defence minister.

Air defence company Frankenburg Technologies, operating in Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine, has also expanded to Lithuania. Karolis Žemaitis, the head of the company in Lithuania, says it aims to produce small missiles that destroy drones.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda believes that MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, should face legal consequences for fearmongering and lying about proposals regarding defence funding.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts say that in order to increase spending on defence and social security, Lithuania needs to look for additional sources of budget revenue and seek greater efficiency of the public sector, the central bank said in a press release on Thursday.

The Board of the Seimas on Wednesday approved a proposal to hold a closed sitting of the Parliament in March to discuss threat assessment and the need for additional funding for national defence.

Swedbank’s chief economist Nerijus Mačiulis believes that in current circumstances, when defence funding needs to be raised rapidly, this should be done by borrowing rather than by using foreign exchange reserves or the State Social Insurance Fund Board’s (Sodra) reserves.

On Friday, President Gitanas Nausėda met with the head of the Bank of Lithuania to discuss potential revenue sources to boost defence funding. The president will propose to change legislation to increase the contribution of the Bank of Lithuania to the state budget to meet the growing defence needs....

President Gitanas Nausėda will propose to change legislation to increase the contribution of the Bank of Lithuania to the state budget to meet the growing defence needs.

The State Defence Council convened for a sitting on Friday and President Gitanas Nausėda afterwards revealed that it was agreed on 5-6% of GDP defence spending in coming years.

President Gitanas Nausėda has welcomed the state budget plan for 2025-2027 passed by the Seimas on Thursday, hailing the Government’s decision on additional funding for defence.

Two deputy ministers of national defence have taken office, the ministry reports. They are Tomas Godliauskas, former national security adviser to the president, and Karolis Aleksa, former head of the defence policy group at the Ministry of National Defence.

On Wednesday, the storage facility of counter mobility equipment in Rūdninkai Training Area, south of Vilnius, was presented to members of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence. MPs were informed that these facilities are an integral part of the Baltic defence line.

On Friday, President Gitanas Nausėda met with Estonian President Alar Karis and Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs in Klaipėda for a regular annual meeting of the Presidents of the three Baltic States. The three leaders discussed the security situation in the region, support for Ukraine, energy inde...

President Gitanas Nausėda had a telephone conversation with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, as she begins her second term in office. The two leaders discussed the security and defence of the European Union, as well as the situation in Georgia, said the presidency.

On Friday at the Presidential Palace, President Gitanas Nausėda met with Social Democratic MP Dovilė Šakalienė, the candidate for the defence minister’s position.

Social Democratic MP Dovilė Šakalienė, a potential candidate for the defence minister’s position, thinks that Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States again might push Europe to boost her own security.

On Thursday evening, President Gitanas Nausėda participated in an informal meeting of the European Council, where EU leaders discussed relations with the United States, the situations in Moldova and Georgia following recent elections, and other matters concerning the EU’s external policy, said the p...