The Economy and Innovation Ministry proposes to amend several laws to enable major Western arms and ammunition producers, including Germany’s defence industry giant Rheinmetall, to swiftly relocate production to Lithuania.
The ministry has drafted legislative amendments aimed, among other things, at allowing the construction of large-scale projects, officially recognised by the government as meeting the state’s urgent security and defence needs, to begin without the usual building permit.
Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė says the amendments also target Germany’s Rheinmetall, which has plans to build a 155 mm artillery ammunition factory in Lithuania.
“The Rheinmetall project could also benefit from these changes, [...] and I hope it will when we develop it,” she told BNS.
According to the ministry, the changing geopolitical situation requires developing Lithuania’s defence industry capabilities and reducing its dependency on the import of weapons, ammunition, and other military products.
The ministry says the proposed changes would help attract significant manufacturing projects that “would likely contribute to the defence capabilities not only of Lithuania but also of the whole of Europe and Ukraine”.
The proposed amendments to the Laws on Investment, Land, Territorial Planning, and Construction would allow the government to designate a major defence industry investment as a project of immediate importance for national security.
“This is a green corridor for major investments in defence and security,” Armonaitė said. “We are creating a new status and reducing the bureaucratic burden for investment projects of significance for Lithuania’s security and defence situation.”
The status would allow an investor to start building a factory for weapons, ammunition, or other defence products without a building permit. However, it would be mandatory to obtain the permit before the construction is completed.
The government would exceptionally allow construction in non-urbanised areas without going through the usual territorial planning procedures with local municipalities. Investors would not be obliged to inform the public about the design process and involve them in the project design discussions. The requirement to make public information on the start of construction work would also be scrapped.
Among other things, the Economy and Innovation Ministry suggests introducing a single document, called a special-purpose project, to swiftly deal with land plot formation and other relevant issues.
“The proposed legal regulation will only be applied in exceptional circumstances, when it is necessary to ensure the country’s security and defence needs, such as uninterrupted access to the necessary weapons and ammunition for the Lithuanian Armed Forces,” the ministry said.
According to Armonaitė, under the current regulation, it takes between 2 and 2.5 years for arms or ammunition manufacturers to prepare the necessary territorial planning and other documents.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger confirmed the company’s plans to build a 155 mm artillery ammunition factory in Lithuania last month. He said another plant would be built in Ukraine.
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