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“Today we see (…) that 23 of 32 countries have reached this indicator (2% of GDP – BNS), and as I saw from the speeches of my colleagues here and during the conference, many believe that this is not enough. G. Nausėda told reporters at the NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday.
“That clearly suggests to me that there will be more rate hikes to get that level closer to 3 percent, maybe even 4 percent,” he said.
Lithuanian representatives said ahead of the NATO summit they would encourage discussions on setting a “floor” for defence spending at 2.5% of gross domestic product.
“You see, there are countries where even today 2% has not been reached, then there will be a funny situation where we are leading with a higher percentage, while some states are planning 2%. This limit will be reached only in 2028 or 2029”, says G. Nausėda.
“It somewhat undermines the percentage itself because clearly 2.5 percent, maybe by 2035, is probably not the path we should be taking,” the president said.
At a summit in Vilnius last year, NATO leaders agreed that alliance members must allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense.
After the government allocated additional funds at the end of June, Lithuania’s defense expenditure this year reached 3% of GDP.
Congress also passed a series of so-called defense taxes designed to increase defense spending to 3% of gross domestic product.
To achieve this, Parliament increased corporate taxes and excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and fuel, and passed the so-called National Defense Fund Act.
The council also decided that the municipality would spend 25 million euros per year on civil protection projects from its share of personal income tax (PIT).
The National Defense Fund will be used exclusively to accumulate funds to meet the urgent needs of strengthening the country’s defense capabilities and citizen security.
Defense spending is being increased to more quickly create a division in the Lithuanian army, receive a German brigade by 2027 and prepare for full conscription.
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