Lithuanian parties weigh new defence and demographic pacts

Lithuanian political parties are discussing new agreements on defence and demographics, LRT reported. Opposition parties want a commitment to keep defence spending above 5 percent of gross domestic product after 2030, while Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has proposed a separate agreement on demographic policy.

Social Democrat Orinta Leiputė said the governing party does not see a need for negotiations on defence funding because it does not plan to reduce spending. “We have not considered that less funding is needed than there is now; at least, we plan to remain around the 5 percent level,” she said.

Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas said the parties should agree on more than a funding percentage, including whether to introduce universal conscription and how to develop an air defence system.

“A defence agreement could perhaps ensure continuity in policy,” said Agnė Širinskienė, leader of the Democratic faction For Lithuania.

The proposal for a demographic agreement has received support from nearly all parties, although politicians are sceptical about whether such agreements lead to concrete results.

Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn faction in the Seimas, questioned the idea. “How can you write down the demographic situation? When a man and a woman get married, do they sign that they will have four or five children?” he said.

Simon Kairys, a member of the Liberal Movement faction, said women should be included in discussions on the demographic crisis. Žemaitaitis said he would support an agreement only if abortions were banned, except in cases involving violent crimes.

The governing parties say their proposed agreement would be based on the government programme and could include raising the upper limits on benefits and helping young families buy homes. The opposition has also proposed these measures.

Politicians said an agreement could help ensure policy continuity when governments change, but acknowledged that it would not be a solution by itself. A previous defence agreement was signed in 2018, and the parties later renewed it after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. The parties also reached an agreement on education, while proposed agreements on healthcare and other areas were discussed but not concluded.

Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas has said that a demographic agreement could be implemented during the current parliamentary term.