Around 5,000 Bundeswehr personnel are to be stationed in Lithuania in the coming years. For this purpose, the military representative Högl wants to create attractive framework conditions – such as decent accommodation and schools.
The Bundestag’s Armed Forces Commissioner, Eva Högl, is calling for attractive conditions for the soldiers of the planned Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania. In addition to financial incentives, the approximately 5,000 employees must be offered decent accommodation, German schools and kindergartens as well as work opportunities for their partners, Högl told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“And if the family can’t come with you, commuting needs to be made easier,” added the SPD politician. You could, for example, imagine direct flights from Vilnius to major German cities. This is currently being negotiated with Lithuania under high pressure. “It must be attractive for soldiers and their families to serve and live in the Baltics for several years,” so that they go there voluntarily if possible, said Högl.
The incident team has already arrived
Germany wants to permanently station a combat-ready and independently acting unit in Lithuania by 2027. A permanent presence of around 4,800 soldiers and around 200 civilian Bundeswehr members who can bring their families with them is planned.
An advance team with around 20 soldiers arrived in Vilnius at the beginning of last week. It consists of specialists from various areas and is expected to grow to a staff of around 150 men and women by the fourth quarter of 2024.
The turnaround brigade
Högl said that so far the permanent stationing of a combat brigade in Lithuania – apart from start-up funding – has not been included in the defense budget and cannot easily be financed from it.
The brigade is the flagship project of the new era and must be solidly financed.
She therefore called for an increase in German defense spending. “Debates are already underway in NATO to see two percent as the lower limit,” she said. “Whether two, two and a half or three percent: Ultimately, it’s about equipping the Bundeswehr financially in the long term so that it is fully operational.”
Never before have so many soldiers permanently abroad
The permanent stationing of a combat brigade in Lithuania is a precedent in the history of the Bundeswehr. Never before had so many soldiers been permanently stationed abroad.
In response to the changed security situation in Europe, the federal government promised to relocate a battle group to Lithuania that was ready for combat and capable of acting independently. “The permanent stationing of a combat-ready brigade in the Baltics is intended to deter Russia from further attacks on its neighboring countries,” explained the Federal Ministry of Defense.
Lithuania is on NATO’s eastern flank. The former Soviet republic, which joined the Western military alliance in 2004, borders Russia and Russia’s ally Belarus.