The new Lithuanian government’s program in will ensure continuity and stability, Prime Minister-designate Inga Ruginienė said while presenting her cabinet’s plans to the parliament on Wednesday.
“My goal is to ensure that the work begun by the [previous] 19th government is successfully continued, and this is why the new program was written with the aim of highlighting the commitments of the new ruling coalition to the people of Lithuania, taking into account the work already done and the results achieved,” Ruginienė told lawmakers.
The Ruginienė government’s program includes a commitment to significantly increasing military spending, up to 5% of GDP.
“We are already spending 4% of GDP on defence, and we are committed to spending even more than 5% in the future,” the prime minister-designate said.
The program also vows not to introduce any new taxes during the term of office, except for a financial stability tax on banks, the details of which remain unknown. The program includes a promise to stop raising the excise tax on diesel fuel, but also includes plans to increase the excise duties on tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and alcohol more rapidly.
The new cabinet drops the idea of establishing a Ministry of Regions, but the remaining program largely repeats the promises made by the previous government of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas. These include faster indexation of pensions, social and other benefits, increasing public sector salaries, taking steps to cut waiting times in the healthcare system, more resources for road maintenance, a ban on surcharges for health insurance-covered services, and better conditions for businesses.
On foreign policy, the future government is softening its rhetoric towards China and declaring its intention to normalise diplomatic relations with Beijing.
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