Press
Olaf Scholz and his Baltic NATO partners are pushing for faster arms production. In Lithuania he pleads for Germany’s lasting support.
Olaf Scholz is keeping an eye on the Baltic Sea this week – and especially the security situation along it NATO-Eastern flank. On Wednesday (May 8th) he will receive Finland’s President Alexander Stubb in the Chancellery. But first the Chancellor went on a trip himself on Monday, namely to the Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia. The Baltic Sea countries are NATO outposts and therefore know what it means to be exposed to a growing hybrid threat from Russia.
“Germany stands unwaveringly on the side of the Baltic states,” said Scholz at the military training area in Pabradė, Lithuania – just 20 kilometers from the border with Belarus. Before that, he had a NATO shooting exercise with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda Maneuver Quadriga 24 observed, in which Bundeswehr soldiers also take part.
Afterwards, in Latvia’s capital Riga, Scholz, together with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, pushed for a faster expansion of arms production in Europe. The three heads of government – the host Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, Lithuania’s Ingrida Šimonytė and Kaja Kallas from Estonia – called on their partners in Europe and NATO to spend more money on defense. “The Baltic states, along with Poland, are setting a good example when it comes to defense investments by spending well over two percent of gross domestic product on them,” emphasized Šimonytė.
Scholz in the Baltic states: The main issue is security – especially from Putin’s Russia
The three Baltic states have long been warning particularly urgently about the danger posed by Moscow. Russia’s President Wladimir Putin threatens them verbally, but also with a build-up of troops along the border. Finland has closed its border with Russia because Moscow is apparently deliberately smuggling refugees there. Disruptions to the GPS satellite navigation system have been increasing in the region for weeks. Because of this so-called GPS jamming, several Finnair planes were unable to land in Tartu, Estonia; the airline stopped flights for the time being. Cases of GPS jamming have also been increasing in other parts of the Baltic Sea since 2023, with residents suspecting Russia to be the perpetrator. Putin also had Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas put on a Russian wanted list.
From the beginning, Scholz’s focus in the Baltics was on security and deterrence Ukraine war – and about demonstrating German support. The Bundeswehr is regularly deployed in the region as part of NATO patrols and takes part in exercises. Germany’s commitment to the Bundeswehr is serious, said Scholz, referring to NATO’s obligation to provide assistance. Together they will defend “every centimeter of their territory”.
Lithuania wants more speed in building up the Bundeswehr brigade
For this purpose, Germany will station a brigade permanently abroad for the first time, namely in Lithuania. At the beginning of April, the first 21 soldiers of the future brigade arrived in the capital Vilnius. According to the plans, 4,800 soldiers will form the new brigade by the end of 2027. The deployment is progressing at great speed, said Scholz in Pabradė. President Nausėda welcomed the progress but called for more speed. “Our strategic security environment requires this. We don’t have the luxury of wasting even a minute.”
But more speed may not be easy, as it is a herculean task for the cash-strapped German armed forces. According to media reports, the overall construction of the brigade, including equipment, will cost more than ten billion euros, of which Lithuania will cover part. This is one of the reasons why Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is calling for an increase in the defense budget by 6.7 billion euros, despite the current austerity measures. Pistorius himself promised Lithuania last summer that he would replace the soldiers who had previously been rotating into the country every few months with a permanently stationed brigade of the Bundeswehr – designed as a heavy combat brigade, which also contains a tank battalion. It is a signal from Berlin to take the defense of NATO’s eastern flank against possible actions by Russia seriously and to participate in this on a long-term basis with its own commitment.
Germany: More active role in the security structure of the Baltic Sea
Just a few days ago, NATO apparently agreed that Germany would take over the military leadership of the NATO states in the Baltic Sea and thus shoulder a major coordination task. Again Specialist service Security.Table reported that the decision had previously been delayed because Poland, under the previous PiS government, rejected such a role for Germany. However, the final decision will only be made after the ongoing overhaul of the NATO command structure has ended. The possible location of the future command is Rostock – where there is already a German naval command for the Baltic Sea.
In Riga, the three Prime Ministers praised Germany’s commitment. But they don’t yet completely trust Western Europe’s efforts. Symonyte pointed to problems in financing the defense industry in Europe and the resulting uncertainty for companies when it comes to whether or not they should embark on a long-term expansion of production capacity. Latvia’s Evika Siliņa is calling for help from Europe because the Baltic states have given a lot of their weapons to Ukraine and the depots need to be restocked.
But it is precisely this fear of empty depots that is currently causing many European countries to hesitate with further deliveries. Scholz therefore once again directly called on the partners in Lithuania to support Ukraine with more military material from their weapons depots. All of this shows how difficult the situation is at the moment. After all, the German arms company Rheinmetall is currently planning a factory for 155-millimeter artillery shells in Lithuania – which is very welcome in the region.
#Scholz #promise #Balten #urge #hurry