Minister seeks 8 to 9 percent pay rise for interior officers

Lithuania’s Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas hopes to raise salaries for officers in the interior affairs system by 8 to 9 percent next year, above the 7.5 percent increase planned in the draft 2027 budget, LRT reported.

Speaking to a parliamentary faction on Tuesday, Katelynas said he would look for the extra funding within the ministry’s existing resources. He acknowledged that finding it would be difficult because 80 to 90 percent of funding for institutions under the Interior Ministry already goes to salaries.

Lawmakers raised concerns about the proposed funding. Dainius Gaižauskas said he would not support the current draft budget unless it addressed the financing needs of statutory officers, adding that officers were threatening protests.

Katelynas has previously said the draft budget does not meet the needs of police, fire and rescue services, border guards, the Financial Crime Investigation Service and the Public Security Service. He said higher pay was needed to retain experienced officers and recruit new staff.

The government’s draft budget provides an increase of about 7.5 percent for statutory officers, with an additional 45.3 million euros allocated. It sets total public security spending at 921.8 million euros next year. This year, 1.07 billion euros was allocated to the entire interior affairs system.