Inga Ruginienė, the Social Democratic Party’s candidate for prime minister and current social security and labour minister, says that her government would not change Lithuania’s defence funding commitments.
“We won’t be changing direction. I see a strong defence priority in Lithuania. Security must be ensured. We see what’s happening. We see people are genuinely worried. So this direction is especially important,” she told BNS in an interview on Wednesday.
Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democrat prime minister who resigned last week, has said the government plans to allocate 5.25 percent of GDP for defence next year.
The State Defence Council has decided that Lithuania will need to allocate an additional 12 to 13 billion euros for the military between 2026–2030 to build a national division, procure new equipment and prepare to host a German brigade. That would raise military spending to between 5 and 6 percent of GDP.
Ruginienė said this commitment would remain in place.
“Absolutely. One of my first priorities will be to sit down with the defence minister for a serious discussion. I’m confident we’ll coordinate our plans,” she said.
On Wednesday, the presidium of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) decided to nominate Ruginienė for the post of prime minister.
The search for a new prime minister began after Paluckas stepped down last week as both prime minister and LSDP chairman amid mounting questions about his business dealings and past.
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