It will be submitted to the Seimas for ratification.
According to the Minister of National Defense, Arvydas Anušauskas, this agreement will define the legal, tax, employment and other conditions for the life of German citizens in Lithuania.
“There are many things that need to be defined in a contract. (…) Despite the fact that the European Union erodes many of those borders, a bilateral cross-border agreement will allow to define more specific conditions, and mainly what is related to the presence of civilian and military families in Lithuania”, said the Seimas on Wednesday after the closed National Security and Defense Committee (NSGK) the minister told reporters at the meeting.
He also mentioned that a meeting with German representatives is planned for December 19, when the plan for the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania is to be signed.
The minister has so far declined to say what the plan will include, as it is still under negotiation.
“In December, the implementation plan for the reception of the German brigade in Lithuania will be signed, it will cover civil and military infrastructure. Therefore, it is very important to mobilize the joint efforts of all state institutions, including municipalities and the private sector, for the implementation of this plan,” said A. Anušauskas.
According to the report, the soldiers of the German brigade will arrive in Lithuania gradually – from 2024 Lithuania will receive the first soldiers, and by 2027 it is planned to receive the entire German brigade.
German soldiers will be stationed in Vilnius and Kaunas, but certain logistical elements are also planned in other parts of Lithuania.
“If there are civilians, we are talking about their life in the city, not in the village,” said the minister.
According to A. Anušauskas, one of the most important tasks of the reception of the German brigade is to agree on civil infrastructure, including all necessary services for the families arriving together with the soldiers. Also, strengthening transportation services – roads, trains, airplanes will be important not only for the German soldiers stationed in Lithuania, but also for Lithuanian business, and will also be useful for Lithuania as a whole.
The minister claimed that it is not yet clear how much additional funds will be needed for the settlement of civilians in Lithuania.
Conservative Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Chairman of the National Committee of the Seimas, said that the German brigade in Lithuania is also in NATO’s defense plans. According to the Seimas member, everything looks very solid.
“Both the plan announced by the Germans themselves, and those numbers, and the “difficulty” of the brigade, the preparation is what we were aiming for. (…) The brigade is integrated into the division assigned to our defense in the plans. Everything is very systematic, very clear, a clear defense algorithm,” he asserted.
According to the head of the NSGK, the pre-deployment of weapons or ammunition of the German division assigned to the defense of Lithuania in Lithuania is being considered.
“This may still be a visionary thought, but it is extremely important. Then that arrival is faster, then we are even stronger, more capable, the deterrent effect is much stronger,” he said.
L. Kasčiūnas emphasized that all parties agree on the necessity of the German brigade in Lithuania, therefore, according to him, there is no need to consolidate its sustainable financing with any document.
“All parties are completely united in this regard. I don’t even doubt that if the ruling coalition changes after the elections, which will not necessarily happen, I don’t doubt the continuity,” he asserted.
NSGK member social democrat Dovilė Šakalienė told reporters that adequate financing of national defense is one of the challenges that Lithuania needs to address.
“Some of the challenges that will need to be addressed are that we will really need to secure sustainable, increased defense funding because what is planned today is not what defense needs are,” she asserted.
However, the parliamentarian agreed that all political forces in the Seimas are aware of their responsibility for national defense.
“Valstietis” Dainius Gaižauskas also said that he was satisfied with the plans for the deployment of the German brigade presented by the Minister of National Defense on Wednesday.
“The German brigade will be here and will be there all the time,” he emphasized.
According to the member of the Seimas, the presence of Germans will bring benefits not only in terms of defense, but also for the Lithuanian economy.
“So that Lithuania will not only benefit from this, which is related to our defense and national security, but also certain municipalities and cities should recover in one way or another. However, there is a large German capacity coming, and the Germans are taking it very seriously,” he said.
The German Ministry of Defense announced last week that the core of its brigade in Lithuania should consist of tank and mechanized infantry battalions. The third maneuver battalion should initially consist of the combat group of the battalion of the NATO advance forces already in Lithuania under the command of the Germans.
The brigade deployed in Lithuania will be named “Panzerbrigade 42”. It is planned that the deployment headquarters of the brigade should be moved to Lithuania in the last quarter of 2024. Germany intends to deploy a total of about 4,000 personnel in the brigade in Lithuania. soldiers
The deployment of the brigade in Lithuania began to be discussed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in order to strengthen the security of the region. The front command element of the brigade is currently deployed in the country.
Since 2017, Germany has also been leading the NATO international allied battalion deployed in Lithuania.
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2024-08-21 07:04:31
