Čmilytė-Nielsen calls for urgent review of defence agreement

Liberal Movement chair Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen has called for an urgent review of Lithuania’s national defence agreement as the security situation changes, LRT reported, citing her comments on the ELTA Week programme.

She said the 2022 agreement did not address drones because they were not yet a reality, while the rapid development of robotics and changes in the nature of threats required the document to be updated.

Čmilytė-Nielsen said the revised agreement should set out five to 10 essential principles on a single A4 page rather than expand into a lengthy document.

She said the prime minister, the speaker of the Seimas or President Gitanas Nausėda could initiate the process. If the government does not take the lead, she said, the president is in a unique position to do so.

The Liberal Movement leader also said there was value in preparing an agreement to improve Lithuania’s demographic situation. However, she said both initiatives should be completed during the Seimas autumn session, before the election campaign begins.

“Time is running out for agreements,” Čmilytė-Nielsen said, adding that the end of the autumn session could be the last realistic opportunity to reach them.

Parliamentary parties signed the current defence agreement in July 2022. It covers strengthening the Lithuanian Armed Forces 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.

The president has already initiated discussions on a long-term party agreement on defence financing after 2030. Politicians broadly support further talks after State Controller Irena Segalovičienė proposed maintaining defence funding at more than 5 percent of gross domestic product, although they differ on whether a future agreement should also define defence capabilities and what practical benefit it would provide.

Political parties have also been discussing a demographic agreement as Lithuania’s birth rate declines. The Social Democratic Party chair said in May that he would initiate a national agreement on the demographic crisis this year. In late July, the Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrats parliamentary group submitted a draft agreement covering 2026 to 2040 for consideration by parliamentary parties.