The first stage of a planned European “drone wall” could be completed by 2028, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking ahead of a European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, Nauseda suggested allocating funds for the project’s second stage in the EU’s next multiannual budget. He pointed out that recent events had shown that…
Lithuania has extended the closure of part of the country’s airspace along the border with Belarus until 1 December 2025, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) announced, BNS reports. LGP pointed to continued security concerns and the need for new legislation to guide military operations. Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that extending the airspace closure was…
The US Congress has approved an increase in the maximum number of HIMARS systems and related munitions that can be sold to Estonia, BNS reports. According to Vanguard Intel Group, the US has raised the sales cap from EUR 500mn to EUR 4.73bn. This would allow Estonia to buy an additional 12 HIMARS launchers, 200…
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a working visit to Latvia on 8 July 2025, LSM reported. He held talks with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics and Prime Minister Evika Silina. Steinmeier highlighted Germany’s special connection and historical and cultural ties with Latvia. Speaking about bilateral cooperation on security policy, he noted that Latvia was beginning to…
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed “grave alarm” at the decision of the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reported. Türk stressed that the international convention, which has over 160 state parties, was a crucial tool in “responding to…
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Lithuania on the country’s Statehood Day on 6 July 2025, BNS reported. He reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to Lithuania’s defence. Speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius, Steinmeier stated: “Your security is our security, your freedom is our freedom.” Germany is deploying a permanent brigade…
Latvia’s National Armed Forces (NBS) intends to recruit an additional 500 professional soldiers, Baltic News Network reports. NBS plans to recruit altogether 8,000 professional soldiers over 2025. The Defence Ministry has allocated up to EUR 7.7mn of state budget funds for military staff salaries in 2025. Another EUR 6.5mn will be needed in 2026. The…
The EU should take on joint debt to finance defence spending, Gediminas Simkus, board chairman of the Bank of Lithuania, stated, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Politico, Simkus called for “more unity in defence” in the EU, noting that the European defence industry market was still very fragmented. He said that the “time…
The coordination committee of the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility has approved another EUR 295.5mn of funding for the Baltic railway project, Rail Baltica, LSM reports. Of the total, EUR 47.1mn will go to Estonia, EUR 153.5mn to Latvia, and EUR 94.9mn to Lithuania. The project coordinator, RB Rail, said that the funds would be…