The headquarters of the brigade assigned to Germany, which will coordinate the establishment of the entire brigade in Lithuania, has been located in one of Vilnius’ business centers.
“I assure you that our soldiers have come to stay here,” German Ambassador to Lithuania Cornelius Zimmermann commented to LNK Žinioms in Lithuanian.
But the brigade for Lithuania caused a wave of questions and discussions in Germany itself, when Minister Boris Pistorius presented how much the brigade would cost. Creating the brigade, which is planned over three years, will cost 10 billion. euros, and another 1 billion euros annually for maintenance.
“I’m glad that so far things are going as planned. Those plans are very clear, they are laid out for each year,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda commented to LNK Žinioms.
The Germans are planning 6 billion for the brigade in Lithuania. euros for the training of soldiers in Germany: uniforms, weapons, barracks. For 4 billion Lithuanian brigades intend to buy heavy weapons, such as tanks. The technology would be German, so this money would stay in Germany.
The reception of the German brigade will cost Lithuania much less than the Germans.
Kasčiūnas: the reception of the brigade will cost about 1 billion. euros
“Over a billion, I’d say so. Among, perhaps, 800 million euros and over a billion, we are now in that range. The need is not completely clear yet,” said Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
Lithuania’s main investments are to set up the Rūdninkai training ground for the Germans, to build barracks where the soldiers of the German brigade who arrived without their families will live. Those who came with their families will rent apartments in Vilnius for German money.
“If earlier we said that we would need some kind of quarters for the German soldiers, no, that will not be necessary. They will, of course, look for somewhere nearby, in southern Vilnius, but they will basically go to the rental market,” said L. Kasčiūnas.
Minister B. Pistorius sets the goal that the Lithuanian brigade should be exemplary throughout NATO, but for that he is criticized in Germany. It is said that the Lithuanian brigade is being asked for disproportionately more money than the other German brigades, and that the minister planned billions of expenses for the Lithuanian brigade without receiving the blessing of his boss, Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“This is a fundamental question. The minister needs the support of the chancellor, but there is no support. The minister asked for an additional 9 billion this year, but received less than 2 billion. There is a lot of talk, but words are not accompanied by actions, the Minister of Defense is not allowed to act. I don’t see the chancellor’s political will to strengthen defense,” commented Bundestag member (CDU/CSU) Roderich Kiesewetter.
Member of the Bundestag: Chancellor is destroying Germany’s reputation
Germany aims to become the guarantor of European security, and how it will succeed, according to German politicians, will depend on the creation of the Lithuanian brigade. If Minister B. Pistorius receives all the billions requested for the Lithuanian brigade, additional billions should be allocated to other German capabilities, and the needs for this are enormous.
“The German military needs a total of at least 300 billion. euros and the question here is how to achieve it by 2030. Germany’s annual military budget is now about 50 billion. euros. We need 80 billion euros to reach 2 percent. the GDP goal,” said Bundestag member R. Kiesewetter.
Even high-ranking German military personnel are lured to the brigade in Lithuania with monetary bonuses. A sergeant who arrived without a family would receive more than 3 thousand per month. EUR salary and more than 1.5 thousand. euro supplement. A lieutenant colonel who would come with his family would receive almost 4.5 thousand. EUR salaries and more than 3 thousand. euro supplement.
“Defence Minister B. Pistorius is very involved, he has built all his credibility on the creation of a brigade for Lithuania. This brigade will boost funding for the entire German military. And it is not the ministers, but the chancellor who is destroying Germany’s reputation. The chancellor shows no political will. The so-called “turn of the century” requires more than just money. First of all, you need to change your thinking”, assessed R. Kiesewetter.
It is planned that 150 soldiers will move to Lithuania this year, and all 5 thousand. soldiers with equipment – in 2027.
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