News

On 19 October, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys met with the leaders of the parliamentary groups of Germany’s governing coalition in the Bundestag: Thorsten Frei, Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary group, and Dr Matthias Miersch, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group.

The meeting focused on the strategic partnership between Lithuania and Germany, regional and European security, and support for Ukraine. Particular attention was paid to the deployment of Germany’s 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania.

“Lithuania and Germany are bound together not only by close ties within NATO and the European Union. We also share the understanding that European security begins with taking responsibility for strengthening it. Germany’s decision to permanently station a brigade in Lithuania is a historic step and one of the clearest examples of solidarity and collective defence among NATO Allies in Europe,” Budrys said.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister thanked Germany for its significant contribution to security in the Baltic region, its leadership in strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, and its participation in NATO’s forward presence as well as the Baltic Sentry initiative.

Budrys stressed that Lithuania remains firmly committed to providing the best possible conditions for the deployment of the German brigade. According to the Minister, infrastructure projects are proceeding according to plan, and all necessary decisions are being taken to ensure that the brigade is fully established in Lithuania by the end of 2027.

The Minister also briefed the Bundestag members on an act of sabotage thwarted in Vilnius yesterday, which targeted a company linked to Starlink infrastructure. According to Budrys, this incident, like the incident in Leipzig, should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a broader pattern of Russian operations against European countries.

“We are seeing coordinated efforts to target critical infrastructure linked to support for Ukraine, logistics chains and other important facilities. These are not isolated crimes. They are part of Russia’s broader hybrid campaign against Europe, aimed at intimidating Allies, undermining support for Ukraine and testing our resilience. There is only one response to such actions: even closer cooperation among Allies, greater vigilance and even stronger support for Ukraine,” Budrys said.

According to the Minister, strengthening European security, defence and resilience will be among the key priorities of Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2027. These objectives are closely linked to continued support for Ukraine, EU enlargement, greater competitiveness, internal security, migration and societal resilience, all of which Lithuania will give particular attention to during its Presidency.

The meeting also addressed opportunities to strengthen Lithuanian-German cooperation in the defence industry, mutual investment, innovation and advanced technologies, as well as upcoming bilateral projects. Lithuania will be a partner country of the Berlin Security Conference in 2026, while the Lithuanian Season in Germany and the German Season in Lithuania in 2027–2028 will create new opportunities to strengthen people-to-people, cultural, academic and economic ties.

The Minister also stressed that Lithuania attaches particular importance to promoting German-language learning and continues to improve conditions for the integration of German troops and their families in Lithuania, including through the expansion of the German school in Vilnius.

Around 2,000 German troops are currently serving in Lithuania. The deployment of Germany’s 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania is Germany’s largest permanent military deployment outside Germany since the Second World War and one of the most important projects for strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence posture in the region.