„Politicians who don't have access to all that sensitive information should perhaps be authorised to work with sensitive information and be in the same field of knowledge. (...) Maybe we should go to Ukraine and see with our own eyes“, Skvernelis told Elta, noting.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the leader of Nemuno Aušra, have publicly expressed doubts about the need to increase funding for national defence. According to him, the decision taken by the VGT is irrational and unworkable.
Therefore, Mr Skvernelis stressed that the representatives of the political parties will have to find solutions to increase funding for national defence. According to the Speaker of Seimas, this will also require renewing the parties' agreement on defence.
„The defence agreement must be reviewed because the situation is changing worldwide. That will require going back, sitting down and getting everyone on the same page. National defence is an area where consensus needs to be found,“ he stressed.
According to the Speaker of Seimas, the VGT's decision to significantly increase defence funding is timely and necessary.
„This is a political decision that was taken after listening to the real situation, what our defence capabilities are now, after listening to what is happening in Ukraine, and after listening to the needs of the army – what decisions we need to make so that by 2030 we will be truly both ready and fully capable of defending ourselves,“ he said.
„There is a need for an army, and we must meet it. If we do not meet it, we are saying that we will not be ready and unable to carry out the defensive actions necessary to defend our country“, he stressed.
Hopes to avoid tax hikes
However, Skvernelis hopes that additional funding for defence can be found without raising taxes.
„The aim is not to make it an additional tax and financial burden. But we will see if we can do without it when the concrete alternatives are drawn up,“ the head of the parliament said.
„These are concrete solutions that cost a specific amount of money. And when you realise that the needed list has to be fulfilled, there is consensus. Because the list is tentatively a little over 5% of GDP,“ he pointed out.
In 2022, many parliamentary parties signed an updated defence agreement. In it, the political forces committed themselves to maintaining funding for national defence at a minimum of 2.5% of GDP.
For its part, the Presidium of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) called on the Social Democrats on Wednesday to take the initiative and renew the parliamentary parties' agreement on defence. According to Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, the interim Chair of the Conservatives, the renewed document should include a clear plan on how to achieve the ambitious goals set by the PSC – to allocate 5–6% of GDP to national defence.
ELTA recalls that on Friday last week, the VGT agreed to allocate 5–6% of GDP annually to the country's defence for 2026–2030. According to the Head of State, Nausėda, the 5.5% of GDP funding level should be maintained over the four years.
The President pointed out that this level of defence funding could be achieved by reallocating the country's resources but stressed the need to avoid tax increases.
According to the VGT decision, additional allocations are needed to form an army division in Lithuania by 2030. The October VGT concluded that the division will not be able to reach full operational capability by the agreed-upon deadline with current funding.
The VGT approved the proposal to form a national army division as early as May 2023.
