Lithuanian lawmakers on Tuesday created favourable conditions for major local and Western manufacturers, including German defence industry giant Rheinmetall, to build their factories more quickly and easily in the country.
The amendments allow, among other things, 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.
In total, 118 MPs voted in favour of such amendments, four voted against, and one abstained. The Seimas also adopted amendments to several accompanying laws.
Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said the same conditions will apply to Lithuanian investors, adding that swift decisions by the state are often more important to them than financial support.
“Sometimes a fast-moving state apparatus, a low bureaucracy level, and digital solutions are more important to investors than any subsidies, state loans, guarantees, or other financial instruments,” she said. “We are making Lithuania probably the friendliest country in Europe for large investments in defence and security.”
The changes will also apply to other major projects that have to do with urgent national security and defence needs.
Last week, representatives of the Lithuanian government and Germany’s Rheinmetall signed a letter of intent for the construction of a 155 mm artillery ammunition plant in Lithuania.
The Economy and Innovation Ministry says that the aim is to begin the construction of the Rheinmetall ammunition plant in Lithuania this fall. The site for the facility may be approved shortly, the ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.
“During the meeting, we discussed the necessary conditions for the company to obtain a suitable plot of land in our country and to be able to start the construction of the plant as early as in the fall of this year,” Deputy Economy and Innovation Minister Erika Kuročkina said after meeting with Rheinmetall executives in Germany.
“This is particularly important for Lithuania’s national security and defence,” she added.
The officials discussed “detailed plans for the earliest possible start of the construction of the 155 mm ammunition factory in Lithuania”, according to the ministry.
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