Šimonytė doubts Lithuania can build division by 2030

Lithuania’s plan to develop a fully operational division by 2030 may be at risk because of delays and funding plans, former prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė told LRT. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said the deadline remains unchanged, although the type of weapons acquired could change.

The next year’s state budget proposal allocates somewhat more money to defence than this year, but a smaller share of gross domestic product. President Gitanas Nausėda has said the division’s development can be matched to the country’s financial capacity, for example by reducing spending in other defence areas. Defence needs, however, continue to grow, the article said.

Šimonytė, now a member of the Seimas National Security and Defence Committee, said the government set a goal in 2025 to develop the division by 2030 and increase defence spending to 5–6% of GDP. This year’s allocation is 5.38% of GDP. She also noted that the Defence Ministry had used about 45% of its allocated funds by mid-October.

According to Šimonytė, the government had planned defence spending of 5.5% of GDP in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028. She said this year’s plan fell short at 5.38%, while spending in 2029 would be about 4.5%, based on her calculation.

She said the equipment delivery plans show no point at which a large volume of weapons is expected to arrive, with deliveries spread across several years. “It seems to me that a division does not simply come together from that by 2030. I think the reason is simple: there are delays,” she told LRT.

Kaunas told the BNS news agency that the division would be developed over the next three years and a few months, though the type of equipment acquired could change.