Katelynas rejects weakening shelter standards as funding expands

Requirements for civil defence shelters must not be weakened because they are intended to protect people, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said on Friday, according to LRT. He also said funding for shelters provided to municipalities would increase this year.

“At present, 25 million euros is allocated each year to municipalities from the State Defence Fund. I agree that 25 million euros for 60 municipalities is quite a small amount,” Katelynas told reporters after meeting representatives of the Lithuanian Association of Local Authorities and mayors.

He said the government was taking municipalities’ comments into account when allocating new funding. The latest funding call provides 16 million euros for municipalities.

“This will allow us to increase funding for each shelter, because we are taking into account and introducing new categories of what can be financed and what work can be carried out. We are also expanding the group of those who can use the funding,” Katelynas said.

Until now, the funding was available to state and municipal institutions. Other shelter operators, including individuals and legal entities, will now also be eligible.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said after the meeting that only 3.7 million euros from the 2025 to 2026 State Defence Fund had so far been used.

Shelters must meet safety requirements

Katelynas said municipalities were best placed to determine where shelters were needed, while the state provided an opportunity to obtain funding.

He said the ministry was reviewing the requirements for shelters and removing those considered excessive or ineffective. However, he stressed that the standards could not be eliminated altogether.

“We cannot risk completely abolishing the requirements, because we are talking about a shelter. A shelter must meet certain standards,” Katelynas said.

He added that a shelter should be more than a sign on a wall and must be safe for people to use.

Goal set to cover 60 percent of residents

The minister said the goal was to provide shelter places for 60 percent of Lithuania’s population. He said demand was higher in densely populated areas and lower in sparsely populated ones.

Vilnius faces the most difficult situation in this respect, Katelynas said. The government’s action plan provides for shelters in the capital to be modernised, funded and adapted to accommodate up to 1,000 people by 2028.

The 16 million euros for shelters will come from the State Defence Fund, whose main purpose is to finance national defence. Katelynas said the money could be used meaningfully for civil protection if the defence minister saw an opportunity to allocate more funds from the fund.

LRT reported that Lithuania currently has 6,645 shelters in municipalities, with capacity for about 1.6 million people, or 57 percent of the country’s population. The minister previously said shelters should cover at least 60 percent of residents in cities and 40 percent in district municipalities.