Lithuanian Foreign Minister urges NATO heads to boost military expenditure goal.
CRASHING INTO DEFENSE - Lithuanian FM Urges NATO to Boost Spending Twofold
VIENNA BEERS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has pushed for NATO leaders to at least double the defense spending target at this summer's summit, arguing that the current level is insufficient.
"Pumping more cash into defense means investing more, plain and simple," Lithuania's top diplomat declared during NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. He emphasized that the existing defense spending was too stingy to achieve the desired outcomes.
"Aiming for a four percent defense budget is what the Hague summit should focus on - moving up from two percent," he asserted.
Europe's defense capabilities need to be bolstered, according to Budrys, to ensure that the alliance remains a robust defensive powerhouse.
"Lithuania is doing its part," he boasted, "In the last decade, we've turbocharged our spending, a hundredfold increase in fact!"
Last summer's summit in Washington applauded over two-thirds of allies for fulfilling their commitment to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defense. Yet, they warned that more was needed.
NBC News reported in early March that, with ongoing troop review in Europe, President Donald Trump is considering prioritizing NATO members who meet a specific defense spending percentage. This would depict a fundamental change in America's NATO engagement.
Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for their failure to meet the current 2% GDP defense spending target, branding it as an excessive burden on the US. He has suggested that European allies should collectively match US defense spending and, more recently, indicated that they should contribute 5% of their GDP to defense.
Lithuania's State Defense Council announced in January a plan to allocate an additional 12-13 billion euros for defense by 2030, aiming to raise defense funding to 5-6% of GDP. Initially, the additional funds will be procured through borrowing, and subsequently, through new taxes, tariff hikes, and economic growth.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas revealed in late March that the upcoming defense budget for 2023 would amount to 5.25% of GDP.
Enriching these developments, Lithuania, together with fifteen other EU countries, is actively working to trigger emergency provisions that enable collective spending up to 1.5% more of GDP on defense annually over the following four years, without breaking EU fiscal regulations. This provision is intended to bolster increased defense investments while preserving debt sustainability. Furthermore, Lithuania has requested an exemption from EU fiscal rules to accommodate these enhanced military expenditures. These actions resonate with broader European efforts to strengthen defense capabilities amid ongoing security challenges.
[1] https://virsus.lrv.lt/en/publications/resolutions/resolution-of-the-seid-on-the-strategic-defence-review-and-defence-development-plan-2026--2030[2] https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/lithuania-defense-allocations-poised-to-rise-but-economic-challenges-remain-091320[3] https://independent.co.uk/voices/nato-ukraine-russia-crisis-tensions-defense-spending-2026-2030-doubling-2367090.html[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-blueprint-high-defence-spending-bid-avoid-us-trumps-ire-2022-01-20/
- In light of the upcoming NATO summit in 2022, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys is urging a twofold increase in defense spending, emphasizing that the current baseline is insufficient for achieving desired outcomes.
- As NATO leaders prepare for their summer meeting, Budrys maintains that Europe's defense capabilities need to be augmented, suggesting that the alliance should strive for a four percent defense budget, moving up from the current two percent.
- Amid these policy-and-legislation discussions, Lithuania announced in January a plan to allocate an additional 12-13 billion euros for defense by 2030, with the aim of raising defense funding to 5-6% of GDP.
- In the general news, Lithuania's request for an exemption from EU fiscal rules to accommodate these enhanced military expenditures is being closely watched, as it resonates with broader European efforts to strengthen defense capabilities amid ongoing security challenges.
