Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said Friday that Lithuania’s leaders must stand united in discussions over the defence budget, emphasising that any reduction in funding would directly cost the country precious time in strengthening its security.
“When we talk about the defence budget, I think it’s clear that we all need to be on the same side – and I sincerely hope that we are,” Šakalienė said at the Security Code conference in Vilnius.
“One of the main challenges is not only ensuring that we can make certain procurements but that we can do so as quickly as possible,” she said. “Any loss or reduction in the defence budget automatically means a loss of time.”
Šakalienė said the proposed 5.38% of GDP allocated for defence in next year’s budget would cover Lithuania’s essential defence needs, but the government would continue negotiating toward a possible 5.5 percent allocation.
“Defence funding is not just numbers on paper,” she said. “It’s not some kind of basket that the government can dip into or redirect to other areas whenever it wants.”
The minister acknowledged that distributing funds among key sectors – including health care, education, infrastructure, and social affairs – was difficult but stressed that defence must remain the top priority.
Further reading
“We are racing against time,” Šakalienė said. “The moment the front in Ukraine stops – and not because of victory but because of new challenges – that clock will start ticking not in years but in months until we face serious threats on NATO territory.”
The Finance Ministry on Thursday registered the 2026 state budget, which proposes €4.79 billion for defence, or 5.38% of GDP, up from just over 4% this year.
The proposal follows a recent political controversy after the Defence Ministry held an off-the-record briefing for journalists and opinion leaders, allegedly to urge them to pressure the government, during which claims appeared online that next year’s defence funding would fall below 5% of GDP.
Social Democratic Party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius called the briefing a “strange exercise”, while Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė described it as “sabotage” and later a “misunderstanding”. She has not yet said whether she continues to trust Šakalienė. The prime minister plans to meet with her on Monday.
Šakalienė said she only learned about the informal meeting from Sinkevičius but believes the information provided there was “accurate and objective”.
“In principle, I see this as a misunderstanding,” she said. “We’ll discuss the situation with the prime minister to clarify how it happened and draw final conclusions.”
The minister also suggested that Ruginienė may have been misinformed. “There is a lot of tension in the country, and in such an atmosphere, hostile forces can easily exploit misunderstandings. We shouldn’t rush to conclusions until all the facts are clear,” Šakalienė said.
She added that she accepted the “rules of political play” and was ready for an open conversation with the prime minister.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
