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Allies in Lithuania

Allies in Lithuania
Opening Ceremony

NATO membership and relations with the Allies

Lithuania’s defence is an integral part of NATO’s collective defence, therefore maintaining and strengthening the security measures of the United States (hereinafter referred to as the United States) and NATO in the Baltic States and Poland remains one of the main preconditions for reliable deterrence and defence:

  1. The most important goal of cooperation with the United States is the deployment of a US rotating battalion in Lithuania, ensuring the necessary support from the host country. The military interoperability of the Lithuanian Armed Forces with the US forces must be further improved, intensive co-operation in synchronizing defence planning, organizing and participating in joint exercises must be continued, seeking US support for the development of the Lithuanian Armed Forces military capabilities, and participating in international operations. Cooperation with US analytical and research centers needs to be continued to reflect regional security concerns in US foreign and security policy;
  2. In order to continue the German leadership of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group and the long-term presence in Lithuania, joint military infrastructure projects must be further developed, joint training of the LSC and the Front Forces Battalion must be organized, and joint capability development must be continued. It is necessary to strengthen cooperation with German analytical centers so that Lithuania’s security interests will be at the top of the German political agenda;
  3. Cooperation with Poland must continue to focus on the format of the Council of Defence Ministers and on cooperation in specific areas of practical importance;
  4. Cooperation in the format of the Baltic States must be focused on the development of joint regional capabilities, cooperation between the eight Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) must be continued, and strong political and practical attention must be paid to the development of the Joint Expeditionary Forces;
  5. Lithuania’s interest in NATO is to continue deterrence measures in the region and strengthen collective defence by incorporating key deterrence and collective defence provisions into NATO’s renewed Strategic Concept, developing NATO defence plans and their compatibility with US and national defence plans, and adapting NATO’s command and force structure rapid reinforcement by fire and force, overcoming the ability to restrict access and blockade in the region, with a special focus on air defence in the region;
  6. In response to the security challenges facing Lithuania and its allies, it will continue to participate in international operations, prioritizing NATO- and US-led international operations and the national military training operation in Ukraine, as well as contributing to EU-led and UN-led international operations and missions.

EU membership

Active participation in the development and implementation of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), in particular in the framework of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) format, remains an important complementary tool for security assurance, capacity building and practical response to cyber and hybrid threats:

  1. By implementing Lithuania’s leadership of the international PESCO Cyber Rapid Response Teams and mutual assistance in the field of cybersecurity project, the full operational capability of these teams must be achieved within the next year. This includes being ready to provide assistance to the participating states in the event of cyber incidents, supporting CSDP missions and operations, providing support to EU institutions in responding to cyber threats, and contributing to the improvement of the EU’s collective response to cybersecurity incidents.
  2. Lithuania must continue to participate in EU military mobility improvement initiatives to facilitate the arrival of allied forces in the Baltic Sea region, develop dual-use infrastructure adapted for military mobility, and simplify and synchronize military movement procedures applied by EU states.
  3. Support should be provided to Lithuanian companies participating in defense capability development and research projects funded by the European Defence Fund.

Eastern Partners

The role of the Ministry of National Defence in maintaining a safe and stable Eastern Neighborhood and improving Lithuania’s security environment is crucial:

  1. The focus must be on the reform of the armed forces and the defence system in Ukraine and Sakartvelo, providing political, expert, material and financial support for the continuation of the national training operation in Ukraine;
  2. Political support must be provided to the EU’s associated partners in initiating security and defence cooperation projects with Ukraine;
  3. There must be involvement in joint exercises and training with Ukrainian and Sakartvelo soldiers in Lithuania, Ukraine, Sakartvelo;
  4. Minimum defence contacts with Belarus must be maintained in order to increase transparency and ensure reciprocity.

Host country support is civilian and military assistance provided by a host country to Allied forces entering and operating in the territory of the host country or in transit in time of peace or crisis. The purpose of host nation support is to ensure the rapid and smooth reception and deployment of incoming forces.

This means providing incoming forces with the necessary services: access to both civilian and military infrastructure, communications and information technology, accommodation and catering, medical and other services.

At the request of the Government, the State, municipal institutions and bodies shall, in accordance with their competence, perform the functions required for the provision of support by the Host Party.

As a member of NATO, Lithuania must be ready to accept NATO forces, to prepare all the country’s infrastructure – railways, seas, airports, roads and people, so that everyone knows their responsibilities and duties in preparing and mobilizing the state and providing the host country support. The main responsibility of a NATO host country, which is governed by NATO law, is for the host nation to be supported not only by the military but also by the state in the broadest sense.

Seminars are organized for civil authorities to provide knowledge on the mobilization and host country support system, the legal framework, and the role and functions of the actors involved in the mobilization system.

However, the main preparation for the support of the host country is, however, exercises during which common work experience is gained, infrastructure, civil and military support capabilities and opportunities, and support procedures are assessed. The experience gained during the exercise will be used to further improve the legal framework and the interaction between civil and military institutions.

In the annual exercise “Baltic Host” in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Lithuanian soldiers and civilians, together with their neighbors, improve the coordination of actions in the host country’s support operations.

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Updated 2025-03-21
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