Seimas sets Lithuania’s key goals for the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius

Press release, 6 April 2023 

Photo by Ilona Šilenkova, Office of the Seimas

The Seimas has adopted a resolution setting out Lithuania’s key goals for the NATO Summit to be held in Vilnius, with a particular focus on Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership.

‘We need to act as one fist if we want to achieve the results that will make not only us, but also our Ukrainian brothers and sisters proud. When asked at any time, day or night, what we aspire to, everyone from a President to a diplomat in any NATO member country and every single one of the 141 Members of the Seimas, be it from the political right or left, needs to give an unequivocal answer, thus speaking with a single voice,’ said Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, when presenting the draft resolution.

The adopted document sets out the following key goals of Lithuania for the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius:

1. to significantly strengthen the forward defence and deterrence of the Baltic region and the entire eastern flank by scaling up the Allied land forces permanently deployed in Lithuania to a brigade-size unit; to strengthen the integrated air and missile defence, including air defence capabilities in Lithuania and in the region; to ensure the readiness to host Allied forces through the prepositioning of Allied military equipment and other assets;

2. to give full support to Ukraine through practical measures, including NATO’s political support, recognising the need for Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at the NATO Summit to be held in Vilnius;

3. welcoming Finland’s membership of NATO, to actively contribute to the earliest possible ratification of the protocols of Sweden’s accession to NATO by Hungary and Türkiye ahead of the Vilnius Summit;

4. to seek the commitment of all NATO member countries to significantly increase defence funding by at least two per cent of gross domestic product from 2025 onwards and to agree on an ambitious commitment of all NATO member countries to increase long-term investments in defence capabilities and defence industry;

5. to expand and strengthen practical cooperation between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partner countries, including in the areas of technology, cyber defence and resilience to hybrid threats, and the pursuit of the rules-based international order.

The Resolution on the Key Goals of Lithuania at the NATO Summit in Vilnius was adopted unanimously by a total of 129 MPs present at the voting.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]