The Government approved of the Ministry of Finance proposal to increase defence spending to 2.52% of GDP and to table it for consideration at the Seimas as a matter of urgency. The hearing on the draft amendment to the law will take place on March 15 and adoption – on March 17. If approved, the amendment will bring additional up to EUR 297.99 million to national security and defence this year.
Draft amendment to Article 14 of the Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets No. XIV-745 for 2022 allows the Ministry of Finance to take a loan on behalf of the state for implementing the commitments of the Republic of Lithuania to NATO in case a need for additional financing is seen in ensuring defence budget of 2.52% of GDP of Lithuania (as provided in the 22 December 2021 forecast by the Ministry of Finance).
The Ministry of Finance would take a loan on the basis of effective requirement provided by the Ministry of National Defence. The MoD plans spending the funds for procuring additional weaponry, military equipment, ammunition, equipment for supporting cybersecurity.
Appropriations for the MoD effective under the current formulation of the Law amount to 2.05% of GDP, or EUR 1 201 million, in 2022 where the GDP percentage is calculated on the basis of December 2021 OECD forecast for Lithuania.
A short while ago the Government also passed a decision to add EUR 40.43 million to the MoD budget under the regulations of the Budget Law currently in force in order to ensure better funding for the implementation of Host Nation Support tasks necessary for hosting NATO allied forces in Lithuania.
Approval of the amendment to the law on the budget at the Seimas would result in immediate allocation of additional up to EUR 257.6 million for national defence.
Information credits: Government of the Republic of Lithuania
