Lithuania to allocate extra EUR 136 mln for defense this year – ministry

VILNIUS - An additional 136 million euros will be allocated to the defense sector in Lithuania this year, the Finance Ministry said on Friday, adding that the money is earmarked for accelerating the implementation of key armaments projects.

"With the adoption of our Defense Fund package in the parliament yesterday and the update of economic projections, we can see which long-term projects have sustainable financing and can start this year," Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said in a statement.

Of the borrowed funds, 51 million euros will be used for advance payments for medium-range air defense systems, 45 million euros will be paid for mobile short-range air defense systems and 40 million euros will be spent on infantry fighting vehicles, she said. 

"Thanks to this decision, we are reaching the 3 percent GDP threshold for defense funding this year," Skaiste underlined.

This year, more than 2 billion euros or 2.75 percent of GDP is earmarked in Lithuania's state budget for national defense.