With the ruling coalition partner Nemuno Aušra not yet promising its support, Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas says there will be enough votes in the Seimas to decide on the establishment of the Kapčiamiestis training ground, Augystė Lyberytė states in in lrytas.
However, the Social Democrats’ vice-chairman notes that the ruling majority must be able to make such difficult decisions unanimously. Otherwise, according to him, the question arises as to whether such a coalition is really serves its purpose.
“I have always said that a coalition is necessary to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions that are necessary for Lithuania. If the coalition can make those decisions—unanimously and jointly—then the coalition is functional. If the coalition is unable to make decisions, then the question arises as to whether such a coalition is necessary,” Kaunas said at a press conference at the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Thursday, when asked about the scepticism of some representatives of the ruling majority on the issue of the training ground.
The minister assured that the MoD is communicating with Seimas members and parliamentary factions and providing answers to their questions about the new military training area being established in the Lazdijai district.
However, Kaunas admits that it will probably not be possible to convince all members of the Seimas that the training ground is necessary.
“Personally, I think that it will not be possible to convince some politicians. The most important thing is that we have enough votes in the Seimas. And as of today, the indications are that the members of the Seimas – the majority of the members of the Seimas – support the project, and we have the number of votes needed to pass the decision,” emphasised the Social Democrat.
“We are not stopping and are continuing to work, persuading and providing answers to the questions that are being asked,” the minister emphasised.
“I truly believe that the other parliamentary factions, which are not in the ruling majority today, will also recognise the need for these decisions and will support them,” added Kaunas.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, who had previously expressed criticism of the training ground but later softened his position, has changed his mind once again, telling Žinių Radijas station that he does not yet see any possibility for his party’s representatives in the Seimas to support plans to establish the Kapčiamiestis training ground.
“From what I am hearing today, I do not yet see the Nemuno Aušra faction supporting the Kapčiamiestis training ground,” said Žemaitaitis.
The interim leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), Mindaugas Sinkevičius, told Elta that the issue of the training ground could become a red line, determining the possibilities for further cooperation with the members of the Nemuno Aušra faction.
“If our coalition partners act in an unstatesmanlike manner, contradicting the universally understood element of security and defence that is necessary in the current context, I believe that this could have very serious implications for future work,” he emphasised.
No indications of challenges in attracting volunteers to the German Brigade
After the weekly magazine Spiegel reported that the German army was facing challenges in finding volunteers willing to serve in the brigade deployed in Lithuania, the Minister of National Defence said he had received assurances from politicians in that country that there were no negative indications to support such a trend.
“I had the opportunity to speak with both Minister Pistorius and German parliamentarians while in Munich and in other settings. They have no negative indications. Again, this may be a matter of internal political manoeuvring among German politicians. Still, decision-makers in Germany are not indicating any negative consequences in the current discussion,” Kaunas said at a press conference on Thursday.
The minister emphasised that even if challenges arise in attracting volunteers, Germany has alternatives for resolving the situation.
“Germany is prepared to form a brigade of volunteers, which is a welcome and positive move. If they encounter any challenges, they always have alternatives to resolve them – this has been communicated to us,” Kaunas said.
“Lithuania, for its part, has also done its homework to ensure that the soldiers who arrive here feel at home and that the conditions are excellent. And we are receiving indications from both German parliamentarians and the minister that the volunteers who are coming are not coming just for the sake of it; they see the benefits and want to come to Lithuania,” he assured.
As the German weekly magazine Spiegel wrote this month, the country’s Bundeswehr is having a hard time finding volunteers for the brigade to be deployed in Lithuania – there are particularly few volunteers among the rank and file: only 28-47% of the required number of soldiers have voluntarily registered for the 203rd Tank Battalion and the 122nd Mechanised Infantry Battalion.
According to the weekly, a document intended for internal use, the situation is even more critical: only about 10% of the required soldiers have volunteered for 2,000 positions in the main forces, such as artillery, reconnaissance, or engineering units, even though the Ministry of Defence is offering attractive financial incentives.
Spiegel claims that the ministry plans to take measures. Among other things, 43,000 soldiers will receive information letters, trips to Lithuania will be offered, and the minimum service period will be reduced from 2 to 1 year.
The Bundeswehr confirmed to the publication the shortage of volunteers, but stressed that this is only a temporary situation and may change.
There are no financial challenges associated with air defence acquisitions that cannot be balanced
After Lithuania signed a EUR 320 million contract at the end of last year to purchase a short-range air defence system, the financial commitments can be met at the expense of other, less important projects, Kaunas assured.
“When developing the Rūdninkai training area, much larger funds were planned than are actually included in the signed contracts, which means that there are additional reserves. Strengthening air defence is not a process completely separate from the formation and strengthening of the same division, so there are no major financial challenges that we cannot balance. Perhaps we can simply postpone less important projects. I am referring to either an infrastructure issue or an engineering solution. We can delay it (…) and use that money now to order and receive equipment and weapons faster,” the minister told reporters.
“The main focus is on mobility (…). We are trying to create mobile air defence groups which, with additional investment in radars, which we are also doing, would be able to respond quickly and mobile and intercept air violators once they have been identified,” emphasised Kaunas.
As announced at the end of last year, Lithuania signed a EUR 320 million contract with the Swedish company SAAB to purchase RBS-70 Bolide short-range anti-aircraft defence system missiles.
This contract, along with previously signed contracts, should ensure the continuous supply of this type of ammunition to the Lithuanian army for the period 2026-2030.
No need to renew the party agreement on defence
Speaking about the parliamentary parties’ agreement on defence, the Minister of National Defence said he currently sees no need to renew it.
“I would see a need to support the decisions that are being presented, which have been prepared by the ministry, discussed, and optimally prepared. Having discussions for the sake of discussions is not the path I would like to take,” said Kaunas.
“I would like to have a discussion about a specific solution, in this case, the training ground. We met with certain factions to discuss the issue; we received answers, and the discussion took place. If we continue to discuss the proposed solutions, everything is fine. If we spend time on political discussions just for the sake of discussing, I don’t see much point in that,” he emphasised.
According to the minister, all strategic documents are currently in line with reality, so additional discussions on these issues are unnecessary.
“To date, all strategic documents: the National Security Strategy, the Lithuanian Defence Strategy – all documents are optimally prepared, reflect reality, meet Lithuania’s security needs, and probably do not require any additional discussion,” he said when asked if he saw a need to renew the agreement between political parties.
The parliamentary parties signed the defence agreement in July 2022. The document sets out three key areas of activity: strengthening the Lithuanian army and international security and defence guarantees, preparing the state for armed defence, and responding to hybrid attacks. The agreement is expected to remain in force until 2030.
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