Lithuania plans laws to speed up defence equipment purchases

Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence plans to submit draft laws to the government this autumn to accelerate weapons and military equipment purchases, Defence Minister Robert Kaunas said, according to LRT.

The ministry is responding to a State Audit Office review of defence system weapons and military equipment procurement between 2021 and 2025.

“The State Audit Office’s audit confirmed what had been discussed for years: the procurement system operated without clear deadlines, separated responsibilities or effective monitoring,” Kaunas said in a Facebook post on Friday.

He said the share of uncompleted procurements had risen to 59 percent, adding that the problem had built up over time because defence procurement cycles take years rather than months.

The ministry has begun reviewing legislation governing public procurement, while strengthening procurement monitoring, risk management and internal controls. It is also improving project management and developing a mechanism to allow weapons and military equipment to be acquired more quickly during mobilisation or wartime.

Procurement data for the defence system is now being managed through a single Procurement Management Information System. The Defence Resources Agency, the Infrastructure Management Agency and the Core State Telecommunications Centre have been granted central contracting authority status.

An interinstitutional commission has also been established to justify procurement methods, while specialised indicators for assessing public procurement efficiency are being developed.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces are updating capability development plans based on current needs and the security situation. The ministry also says it is strengthening the skills, motivation and career opportunities of procurement specialists.

Kaunas said procurement problems had been ignored between 2021 and 2025 and that necessary changes had not been implemented. He said the audit findings confirmed that reforms in the defence system were moving in the right direction.

Lithuania’s budget for this year allocates 5.38 percent of gross domestic product, or about 4.8 billion euros, to defence. Officials have said the defence allocation next year should also be at least 5 percent of GDP.