A further EUR 190 million of borrowed fundswere granted in April for advance payments for engineered infantry fighting vehicles and medium-range air defence systems.
“Strengthening defence is a priority for our Government and a commitment to take decisions promptly when specific national defence needs arise, in line with military advice. Although it is not always possible to predict exactly in advance the need for funds to accelerate the development and implementation of priority defence capabilities, we increased the borrowing limit of the state by EUR 800 million in the course of last year’s budget improvements, thus providing for such a possibility”, Rimantas Šadžius, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Finance states.
These additional allocations from the EUR 800 million borrowing limit allow for timely fulfilment of contractual obligations to suppliers, ensuring that critical weapons and military equipment will also reach Lithuania according to plan.
The proposed allocation is based on a letter from the MoND dated 16 July stating that the Ministry is to make an advance payment of EUR 461 million for tanks in Q3.
The 2025-2027 budget approval law granted the Ministry of Finance the right to borrow for national defence purposes, including military mobility and dual-use (civilian and military) transport infrastructure, as well as military infrastructure necessary to ensure the host country’s support and to finance capital investments in the defence industry being developed in Lithuania.
