“It is necessary to understand that this (geopolitical – BNS) situation will remain for decades, so sustainable and long-term solutions are needed. And probably such decisions that would go beyond the period of the political cycle, because the decisions made by one party can simply be questioned in the long term, so that party agreement is really very important,” G. Skaistė told LRT radio on Tuesday.
“In this case, I would probably invite the president himself to take the leadership he promised at the beginning of the term, to bring everyone to the table and initiate the necessary, sometimes easier, but sometimes unpopular decisions,” said the finance minister.
According to G. Skaistė, next year the Government plans to allocate 2.75 percent to national defense, including budget allocations and income from the solidarity contribution temporarily paid by banks. gross domestic product (GDP).
According to the minister, the possibility of additional borrowing for national defense could appear only in the middle of next year, depending on the economic situation of the country.
“This (additional borrowing for defense – BNS) is a possible solution for one to two years. In the long term, it is still necessary to make sustainable decisions”, said G. Skaistė.
At the beginning of May, the State Defense Council approved the proposal to create a division in the Lithuanian army. According to the commander of the army, Valdemars Rupšis, if the current defense funding is maintained, a full army division in Lithuania could be created five years later than currently planned – in 2035.
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2024-08-07 15:27:18
