Lithuania to increase defense budget
According to an estimate of the Ministry of Finance, Lithuania intends to increase defense spending by 150 million euros next year, up to 725 million euros, Kauno Diena reported.
The current Lithuanian military budget is 575 million euros, approximately 1.48% of the country’s GDP. It is expected that next year's defense spending will rise to 725 million euros, or 1.77% of GDP.
According to Lithuanian Minister of Defense Juozas Olekas, the country plans to spend 2% of GDP on defense in 2018.
Lithuania lagged behind other NATO member states in terms of defense spending, but as a result of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, Vilnius began to rapidly increase the defense budget.