Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has urged the Defence Ministry to improve procurement efficiency after the government spent only about half of its planned defence budget with less than three months left in the year.
“I am not entirely satisfied with the situation. It is practically mid-October, and having spent half of 4.8 billion euros, to spend the other half in November and December and the rest of October does not seem very well thought out and consistent,” Sinkevičius told the radio Žinių radijas on Thursday.
The prime minister said he understood that some payments under contracts already signed were scheduled for the end of the year. However, he said he had repeatedly asked Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas why spending was not distributed more evenly throughout the year.
According to Sinkevičius, Kaunas assured him that everything would be fine.
Sinkevičius said the previous government, led by conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, had operated with defence funding equivalent to 3.5% of gross domestic product. The current administrative system now has to manage a budget exceeding 5% of GDP, he said.
The solution, he argued, was not to hire more staff but to accelerate procedures, make greater use of technology and, in some cases, centralise procurement.
On Wednesday, Deputy Defence Minister Karolis Aleksa said more than 45% of the planned defence budget had already been spent, with spending progressing faster than at the same point last year.
Lithuania’s defence budget stands at 4.8 billion euros in 2026, equivalent to 5.38% of GDP.
The government plans to increase defence funding by 36 million euros next year, bringing it to a level equivalent to 5% of GDP.
LRT English
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