Sinkevičius urges faster defence procurement as spending lags

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius says he understands the Ministry of National Defence’s explanation for why only about half of the funds allocated for defence have been spent, but says procurement bodies need to work faster, LRT reported.

Speaking to Žinių radijas on Thursday, Sinkevičius said he was not fully satisfied with the pace of spending. With the year already approaching its final quarter, he said, spending half of the 4.8 billion euros by mid-October and the rest in November and December did not seem sufficiently planned or consistent.

Sinkevičius said Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas had told him that contracts and commitments were in place, with payments scheduled for the end of the year. The prime minister said he had asked several times why spending was not more evenly distributed across the quarters, and had been assured that the funds would be used.

He said the government led by Ingrida Šimonytė had left defence funding at 3.5% of gross domestic product, while the current level exceeds 5%. The same administrative apparatus now has to handle the larger budget, he said, adding that it should work faster and make greater use of technology and centralised procurement rather than simply hire more staff.

Defence Vice-Minister Karolis Aleksa said on Wednesday that more than 45% of the planned defence funds had been used, at a faster pace than last year, according to BNS.

Lithuania’s defence budget for 2026 is 4.8 billion euros, or 5.38% of GDP. Next year’s defence budget is planned to be 36 million euros higher than this year’s and to amount to 5% of GDP.