Virnius in Lithuania
AP
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Prime Minister Friedrich Merz has launched a groundbreaking German brigade in Lithuania. It aims to help protect the eastern side of NATO, and declared on Thursday that “the security of our Baltic allies are both our security,” as concerns about Russian invasion continue.
He said Berlin will signal allies to invest in security by strengthening its own military.
This is the first time a German brigade has been stationed outside of Germany for the long term since World War II. “This is a historic day,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausda said after meeting Mertz. “This is a day of trust, responsibility and action.”
Germany has troops in Belarus and adjacent Lithuania, where Russia’s Kaliningrad was eliminated and allied to Moscow, allied in Belarus.
The pre-party began work on setting it up about a year ago, and expanded it to approximately 250 “activation staff” last fall. The 45 armored brigades are expected to reach full strength of around 5,000 by the end of 2027, with troops stationed in Rukla and Rudninkai.
Dozens of military helicopters hit the Central Cathedral Square in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, and hundreds of troops and spectators attended as rain fell on Thursday afternoon. “The protection of Vilnius protects Berlin,” Mertz told the event.
The deployment at Lithuania is shaped as Germany works to strengthen its entire military after years of neglect as NATO members rush to increase their defensive spending.
Beyond the new brigade, Mertz said “Germany has made a huge investment in its military.”
“This will send a signal to our allies. Let’s invest with determination in our own security now,” he added. “Together with our partners, we are determined to protect the territory of the Alliance against all – all attacks. The security of our Baltic allies is ours.”
Shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, then Prime Minister Olaf Scholz pledged to increase spending on current NATO targets of 2% of Germany’s gross domestic product, and announced the creation of a special fund of 100 billion euros ($11.3 billion).
Germany met its target thanks to the fund, but in 2027 it will run out. Even before taking office earlier this month, the new governing council has pushed parliament and allowed for higher defensive spending by loosening strict rules on the accumulation of debt.
Merz, the first prime minister to serve Vandeswale himself, told Congress last week. “The government will provide all the funding needed to become Europe’s most powerful traditional military in the future,” he said.
Host Lithuania said in January that it would raise defensive spending from 5% to 6% of GDP, slightly above 3% from next year. It became the first NATO nation to pledge to reach the 5% target sought by US President Donald Trump.
There is a plan as all allies aim to spend 3.5% of their GDP on their defense budget by 2032, and 1.5% has been added to defence-related potentials such as roads, bridges, airports, and coasts.
In Lithuania, Mertz said those numbers “appear to us wise, they seem reachable too – they are stipulated until at least 2032.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this week that he plans to increase defence spending by 0.2 percentage points per year for five to seven years.
Since taking office earlier this month, Meltz has plunged into diplomatic efforts to bring a ceasefire to Ukraine.
“We stand firm in Ukraine, but we stand together as a whole European, and whenever possible, we play in the US and the team,” he said.
