Social democrats come out in support of military conscription in Lithuania

“I think the Social Democratic political group will support the draft law. The political group has not discussed the issue yet, but we hope to do this today and act very responsibly,” Butkevičius told the radio Žinių Radijas on Thursday.

The prime minister did not exclude the possibility that new proposals may be submitted during deliberations. One of such proposals is raised by Butkevičius himself, i.e., to also provide a possibility to carry out shorter than 9 month military service.

The prime minister added that the Ministry of National Defence intends to raise the salaries of professional soldiers in the near future. The Government has been preparing a related resolution.

“The financial situation has shifted, thus we must talk not only about purchases of new armaments, but also about wages of people who use it. The question has been raised and I believe is among the priorities,” said Butkevičius.

As reported, the reintroduction of conscription will be included in this week’s agenda of the Seimas and will be considered as a matter of urgency.

If conscription is reintroduced, then 3,000-3,500 men will be conscripted in the autumn. The government has said that the number may be lower if enough volunteers join the military service.