In Lithuania, the Social Democratic Party, which recently won the election, has announced that they will set the target for defense spending at a minimum of 3.5% of the country’s GDP. This decision comes after the party secured 52 out of 141 seats in the Sunday elections, reflecting people’s concerns about living costs and potential threats from Russia.
Vilija Blinkeviciute, the leader of the Social Democrats, emphasized that their election manifesto clearly states that defense spending should not fall below 3.5%, highlighting the importance of ensuring the necessary funding for security and defense.
She pledged to maintain alignment with the outgoing center-left government on foreign policy, security, and defense matters. The current ruling Homeland Union secured 28 seats in the elections, with its leader and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announcing that he will step down as chairman and not seek reelection in the next parliament.
The newly elected parliament is expected to convene for the first time in mid-November, with the government set to be formed and sworn in by mid-December. Lithuania, a Baltic state with a population of around 2.9 million bordered by Russia, is projected to allocate approximately 3% of its GDP to military expenditures this year, making it the sixth largest NATO spender proportionally in the alliance.
A survey conducted in May revealed that three-quarters of Lithuanians believe that Russia could potentially launch an attack on their country in the near future. Throughout its outgoing government’s tenure, Lithuania has been a vocal critic of Russia within the European Union and NATO, while also standing as a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
As a country that allows Taiwan to operate a de facto embassy in its capital, Vilnius, Lithuania faced repercussions from China in 2021. This includes downgrading diplomatic relations, imposing trade barriers, and pressuring a multinational corporation to abandon Lithuanian components.