Lithuania will seek to make the minimum 2% limit for defense mandatory for all NATO members
NATO exercises in Latvia. Photo by Insta Kalninsios (Reuters/Scanpix).
Lithuania will strive for a commitment to allocate at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) financing to defense during the July NATO summit in Vilnius.
“It is necessary to strengthen the wording, which was approved in 2014 during the Wales summit, to one that reflects a real commitment, would provide a deadline for reaching that size,” Kęstutis Budrys, the president’s chief adviser on national security, told reporters in the Seimas on Thursday.
He is taking part in the discussion of politicians, decision-makers and experts in the parliament about the challenges and opportunities of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. This meeting is open to the public, but is held under the rule that his remarks may be quoted without naming the specific speaker.
Both K. Budrys and other participants of the conference emphasized that increasing funding is forced by the situation that arose after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
“It’s a big challenge, but when we talk to our allies, we say it’s an absolute base. If we do not increase these numbers, we are not seriously unwilling to really strengthen our defense,” the presidential adviser told reporters.
After the annexation of Crimea, NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Wales in 2014 that countries spending 2% of GDP on defense “should aim to move closer to the 2% target within a decade to meet NATO’s capability goals and many NATO capability gaps.”
According to K. Budris, the current flexibility of 2% defense funding is only acceptable as a recommendation for many, so it will not be easy to change the attitude.
“A lot of people are comfortable with flexibility, a lot of people are comfortable with it as an aspiration and to say that we are moving in that direction, but commitment is difficult because the ever-increasing size, because the economy is growing, every year you have to defend yourself in national parliaments, and it happens where it stalls “, said the presidential adviser.
According to the latest data, nine of the 30 NATO countries currently spend 2% of GDP or more on defense. This year, Lithuania has provided 2.52% for national defense.
“Let’s Talk About Money”
K. Budrys emphasized that if funding is not increased, there is a risk that some military capabilities will remain on paper.
“Consequently, we will not have more forces, in some places the capabilities will be paper ones at all.” We need more armored vehicles, smart equipment, invest in the development of science and technology,” he said.
According to the adviser, just a few years ago the Alliance was up to three decades worth of spending, despite the fact that it now includes twice as many states as it did then.
K. Budrys claimed that money should be discussed during the meeting in Vilnius.
“We have to increase our capacity. You need to know what the situation was with the supplies, what we could provide to Ukraine, look at what I could have if we fought such a war, how much ammunition we had in advance. This requires money, let’s talk about money,” the official said.
A participant in more than one conference in the Seimas emphasized that it is necessary to reach a political commitment in Vilnius that 2% of defense financing “be a floor, not a ceiling”, because the war in Ukraine shows that the situation regarding capacities and reserves is very bad.
“Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a plan to significantly increase the army by 2026. We need to answer where we will be as an Alliance in 2026”, stated the participants of one conference.
Also, attention will not be paid to the fact that without increasing the funds for defense, the NATO allied forces will completely advance their defense plans on their eastern flank, that is, in the Baltic countries as well.
“The Germans, the British, the Canadians don’t have enough forces to deploy here,” said the participant.
He called for the restoration of the defense industry
According to experts, the issue of funding is closely related to the capabilities of the defense industry.
According to them, it is necessary to mobilize the defense industry, increase capacity, work faster so that the orders for armaments and equipment would have taken place not after four to five years, but earlier.
According to the participants of the conference, this issue should also be discussed during the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“At the level of the entire Alliance, we need to think about how to help the defense industry get back on track,” said one of the speakers.
At the event, it was also mentioned that it is necessary to strive for NATO’s Baltic countries to deploy long-range defense systems, an air defense mission on top of the air police mission.
“We are talking about the deployment of larger forces in the region. We say that when Madrid’s commitments to move to the forward defense must be based on specific capabilities, those specific capabilities must be seen by everyone on the ground here in the region, support to name what is guaranteed within a year. There must be more of them physically,” presidential adviser K. Budrys told reporters after the conference.
Representatives of the Lithuanian authorities said they hope that the updated defense plans for the Baltic region will be approved before the Vilnius meeting.
Experts and politicians emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen the awareness among the members of the Alliance that Russia is preparing for long-term conflicts and long-term confrontation, and that it can restore its now weakened military capabilities relatively quickly.
“We have to convince our partners that Ukraine’s victory over Russia in the current war is not enough. Russia will definitely win when it becomes a real democracy, abandons chauvinistic ideas about the “Russian world” and so on. Until that happens, it will pose a threat,” the conference participant asserted.
“Strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank must be up to the level to prevent the desire to attack,” he noted.
The NATO summit will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12.
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