Lithuanian parliament ‘will back permanent military conscription unanimously’

“I expect that (the parliament) will give its backing, there may have been more conflicting opinions from the Social Democratic group but now the decision has been signed by the Prime Minister and the Defence minister, therefore, I think the step will be taken quite unanimously at the parliament,” Graužinienė told Žiniu Radijas on Wednesday morning.

She emphasized the unanimous support to the conscription scheme at the State Defence Council:

“This was a decision taken unanimously after a discussion. The Defence Minister had a different opinion during the parliamentary discussion in the fall session, however, the discussions at the State Defence Council resulted in a consensus.”

“I believe it is the right decision to set a long-term perspective for young people of a certain age to know that they have to do their duty to their homeland, learn to defend their homeland, their family and themselves, which is very important. I hope the parliament makes a decision in the shape of legal amendments,” she said.

On Monday, the State Defence Council announced that mandatory initial military service in Lithuania should be reintroduced for good rather than for five years.

The decision was taken unanimously, with support from Defence Minister Juozas Olekas of the ruling Social Democrats whose earlier stance was not to rush into a decision.