The leaders of parliamentary parties in Lithuania on July 15 signed a new national defence agreement, pledging to keep military spending above 2.5% GDP and increase the number of conscripts.
“We are signing this agreement at a truly special time when it’s very important to objectively assess the changed geostrategic environment and arising new threats, to update our defence vision and to set out concrete steps we will take to strengthen our country’s defence,” Parliament Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen said during the signing ceremony.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the government to accelerate the implementation of the previous defence agreement, with the support of all parties.
“The invasion that began in late February and our subsequent meeting and agreement on our goal of significantly increasing national defence funding already this year, which was implemented after a unanimous vote in the parliament, for which I am very grateful, essentially allowed us to achieve the goals of the previous agreement,” the prime minister said.
The agreement on the core principles is important to ensure continuity across different governments, Simonyte noted.
“We have a consensus on fundamental matters that other countries could envy,” she said.
The agreement was signed by Viktoras Fiodorovas, acting chairman of the Labour Party, Saulius Skvernelis, chairman of the Democrats For Lithuania, Vytautas Mitalas, deputy chairman of the Freedom Party, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, chairwoman of the Liberal Movement, Waldemar Tomaszewski, chairman of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, Jonas Pinskus, chairman of the Lithuanian Regions Party, Dovile Sakaliene, vice chair of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, and Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.
The Homeland Union signed the agreement with an additional clause stating that they would seek to introduce universal conscription from 2028.
The opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union was the only parliamentary party not to sign the agreement, stating that it did not see the point.
The new agreement will be valid until 2030. It sets out three near-term directions for ensuring national security: strengthening the Lithuanian armed forces, boosting international security and defence guarantees, preparing the country for armed defence and responding to hybrid attacks.
During the document’s drafting process, the parties failed to agree on introducing universal conscription and a specific GDP percentage to be spent on defence.
Instead of compulsory universal conscription, the document states that in order to increase the number of citizens prepared to defend the country and to step up the formation of the active reserve, the number of soldiers in compulsory initial military service will be gradually increased based on national defence needs, and also an alternative military service system will be developed.
The agreement also states that the previous commitment to earmark 2.5 % GDP for defence has been achieved this year and will be maintained, adding that “further raises to defence funding must be linked to the needs of the national defence system and the Lithuanian Armed Forces”.
In September 2018, Lithuania’s parliamentary parties, excluding the Social Democratic Party, signed the previous agreement stipulating that the country would increase defence spending to 2.5% GDP until 2030. The document also included plans to make provisions for possible introduction of universal conscription in 2022. (LRT/Business World Magazine)