Lithuania needs about 1 billion euros to develop transport links critical for military mobility, Deputy Defence Minister Karolis Aleksa has said.
Aleksa said Lithuania’s overall military mobility needs totaled around 4 billion euros, with most of the funding expected to come from European Union and NATO instruments.
“Our needs total 4 billion euros, including around 1 billion euros for critical transport infrastructure. We understand the scale of these projects. Without that funding, it would be very difficult to carry them out using national resources alone,” he told reporters at a military mobility forum in Vilnius.
He said priority projects included reinforcement routes through the Suwalki corridor, a strategically sensitive stretch of land along Lithuania’s border with Poland that linked the Baltic States to the rest of NATO territory.
“We are talking about reinforcement routes, first of all through the Suwalki corridor in the southwestern direction. This includes railways, Rail Baltica and roads. There are also other critical points, such as additional access routes via Klaipeda seaport and airports. The minimum requirement for these critical projects is 1 billion euros,” Aleksa said.
The Rail Baltica project – a high-speed rail link connecting the Baltic States with Poland and the rest of Europe – is considered a key element of both civilian and military mobility in the region.
Aleksa said Lithuania wanted the EU and NATO to cover most of the costs, as state budget funds were being directed primarily toward building up an army division.
The state could contribute “a few hundred million euros” to the infrastructure projects, he said.
EU funding will be essential, Aleksa added, while acknowledging that competition for resources would be strong.
“We are fighting on many fronts, and military mobility is one of them. We fully understand that the 17-18 billion euros promised in the next multiannual financial framework is a very good figure. But we will see how negotiations unfold, and that flow of funding may be reduced,” he said.
Transport Minister Juras Taminskas said transport links must be strengthened to ensure the rapid redeployment of military units and, if necessary, the evacuation of civilians. (LRT)