The budget of the Lithuanian national defence system has been balanced according to NATO requirements for the proportions of expenditure areas since 2015. According to these requirements, funding for personnel cannot exceed 50% and major procurement and upgrade of weaponry and materiel cannot take up less than 20% of the appropriations for the Ministry of National Defence.
Draft budget 2017 proposes allotting around 43% of all appropriations for personnel and around 43% for contracts (investment and other property, weaponry and military equipment, war reserves, strategic, and non-expendable stocks. Around 14% of all appropriations is proposed to be used for running costs.
Priority areas for appropriations in 2017:
• Development of combat and combat support capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces,
• Development of combat training support capabilities,
• Upgrading of C2 and cyber security capabilities.
Draft Budget 2017 of the Ministry of National Defence proposes allotting up to 90% of all appropriations to military training of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and related areas.
Investment priorities in 2017 of the Ministry of National Defence are:
• Fulfilment of long-term contractual obligations in accordance to continuous investment projects of the national defence system,
• Development of C2, cyber security and intelligence systems,
• Development and upgrading of vehicle pools, special equipment, materiel and infrastructure for providing host Nation Support and for military training,
• Development and upgrading of vehicle pools, special equipment, materiel and infrastructure for designated tasks of the national defence system.
In 2016 Lithuania allotted EUR 575.2 million or 1.5% of GDP; Lithuania had the fastest increasing annual defence spending among all NATO allies in 2014-2015.
