The government has approved amendments to the law allowing major arms manufacturers to start construction without permits

Such a conclusion of the Government, which was approved on Wednesday at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, will be submitted to the Seimas. The Seimas will be asked to consider the issue as a matter of urgency.

It is envisaged that projects related to defense needs could be built in non-urbanized areas without territorial planning procedures with the municipality. In this case, it would not be mandatory to inform the public about the design or about the start of construction work.

According to the ministry, the need to change the laws was determined by the change in the geopolitical situation, which created the need for the urgent development of the industry in the state that ensures defense needs.

It is emphasized that special conditions for faster completion of the procedures related to territory planning, land plot formation and construction are created only for large-scale projects designed to ensure the needs of state security and defense.

Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė previously told Elta that the amendments are aimed at speeding up the establishment of the German manufacturer Rheinmetall, which intends to build an artillery shell factory in Lithuania. However, according to her, it is expected that this will encourage other defense sector companies to come to Lithuania.

The final decision regarding the establishment of the German defense industry company “Rheinmetal” in Lithuania should be known within the next few weeks, according to Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation Karolis Žemaitis. He mentioned that the main thing that the company expects from Lithuanian institutions is flexibility and the ability to provide conditions for starting operations in the country faster.

“We hope that we will have final decisions in the next few weeks,” K. Žemaitis told reporters on Wednesday.

“Rheinmetall’s main expectation would be for Lithuania to be a flexible state, quick in its decisions, which is also society’s expectation. We probably all want the factory to be up and running in 10 months, not three years,” he explained.

However, according to him, it is not known how many people would work in this factory or where it would be located.
In order to make conditions more flexible for both Rheinmetall and other defense industry companies, the government on Wednesday approved changes to the law that would allow such companies to start building factories without obtaining a permit. These amendments will still have to be approved by the Seimas.

As K. Žemaitis explains, this would allow to significantly shorten the process of setting up defense companies’ factories in Lithuania. According to him, it is expected that after the changes in the laws, Lithuania will be interested in more foreign companies of this type.

“Changes to large defense investment projects, so that defense-related investments in Lithuania can be established faster. We hope that with these changes, the current time could be reduced to half a year. Because our goal and society’s expectation is that industrial investments for defense should proceed faster than they can now,” he explained.

The Deputy Minister explained that the exceptional conditions would apply only to large defense investors, and such a status would be approved by the Ministry of National Defense (KAM) and the Government.

“This regulation is being imposed only on industries related to defense-related companies only. We will consult with the MoD about what are the defense-related companies and industries,” he said.

“The regulation would apply only to large defense investments, which invest only about 20 million. euros and corresponds to the standard status of a large investor. Subsequently, the company’s activities are checked to see if they meet the needs of national security and defense. And then the Government makes a decision whether the project can be considered an important project”, he explained.

Finally, he mentioned that the creation of such conditions, which will attract large investors, will also help local businesses.

“We have examples of different manufacturers, about which local businesses are established, other investors are coming. We very much hope and are sure that when Rheinmetal comes, the same thing will happen here and Lithuanian businesses will find something to do,” he assured.

ELTA reminds that at the beginning of March, Rheinmetall announced that it intends to build a factory in Lithuania, where Germany plans to permanently deploy a brigade-sized military unit to protect NATO’s eastern flank.
The plan that a 155 mm artillery ammunition factory will be built in Lithuania was announced in March. the head of the company Arminas Pappergeris also confirmed.