Our Brigade in Lithuania: Pistorius and Kasčiūnas sign mutual agreement

On 13 September 2024, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius met his Lithuanian counterpart Laurynas Kasčiūnas for talks at the Bendlerblock in Berlin. The subsequent signing of a mutual agreement marks another milestone on the way to the permanent deployment of a German Brigade in Lithuania.

The agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Lithuania is evidence of intensified German-Lithuanian defence cooperation. It defines the necessary parameters for the Brigade in Lithuania and establishes a legal basis for the presence of the Bundeswehr on Lithuanian territory. This includes civilian support personnel and families.

Since this is an agreement between governments, Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, and Jonas Survila, Lithuanian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, signed the document as well. The intergovernmental agreement between Lithuania and Germany on defence cooperation remains to be ratified by Lithuania’s parliament, the Seimas. To mark the signing of the agreement, Defence Minister Pistorius will address the Lithuanian parliament on 26 September 2024.

German forces in Lithuania: What the agreement defines 

The provisions of the agreement are intended to make the arrival of German personnel in Lithuania go as smoothly as possible, both on a professional and a personal level. While the NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) provides a set of fundamental rules governing the status of one NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization member’s forces when stationed in another member state of the Alliance, it was adopted in 1951 and needs to be supplemented from today's perspective. The agreement between Lithuania and Germany supplements the NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization SOFA in terms of the presence of German personnel in Lithuania and promotes cooperation between the Bundeswehr and Lithuania’s armed forces.

The agreement provides legal certainty in a number of areas such as regulations governing residence, tax issues, the school system, public health supervision, traffic and transportation, and public security. Notably, it establishes a framework for the brigade’s routine operations and training and provides incentives for people to come work in Lithuania.

Here are some concrete examples: 

• A certificate confirming legal status, or “status certificate”, will make opening a bank account or renting accommodation in Lithuania easier for German personnel of the brigade. 
• Recognition of professional qualifications is to help accompanying family members find work in Lithuania.
• A legal basis is established for the installation of German schools as well as early education and childcare facilities in Lithuania.
• Security regulations will facilitate close cooperation between German and Lithuanian military police as well as mutual support in protecting the personnel, bases and materiel of the German armed forces.

Current status and way ahead for the Brigade in Lithuania 

Minister Pistorius said that after the signing of the roadmap in December 2023, the “Zeitenwende” omnibus act (Artikelgesetz) as well as the agreement on defence cooperation between Germany and Lithuania were both important milestones on the way towards a permanent deployment of our Brigade in Lithuania.

The advance party of the German brigade has been deployed in Lithuania’s capital of Vilnius since April of this year. The future Brigade Commander will come to Lithuania before the end of September 2024. Expansion into an activation staff of about 150 personnel will follow in October and November of 2024. 

In 2025, the focus will be on creating a brigade staff capable of command and control as well as of conducting exercises. From 2025, initial brigade forces will be stationed in Nemenčinė and Rokantiškės near Vilnius until the target infrastructure has been completed. This applies to elements of the headquarters and support company, the signals company and the logistic and medical forces, among others. The activation ceremony for the brigade is planned for the first half of 2025. 

Minister Pistorius said:

"The objective we are ceaselessly working for under high pressure is to have an operational German brigade deployed in Lithuania by the end of 2027."

The Brigade in Lithuania will comprise a total of 4,800 military personnel and 200 civilian members of the Bundeswehr. It will be deployed permanently in Lithuania – a deployment this large is a first in the history of the Bundeswehr.