Defence Minister Pistorius speaks in the Lithuanian Parliament

On September 26, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius spoke in the Lithuanian parliament about the joint commitment to defending NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank. Germany will deploy a combat brigade in the partner country.

Keynote by the Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius at the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius on 26 September 2024

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Madam Speaker, 

Honourable Members of the Seimas,

People of Lithuania,

Ladies and gentlemen, 

It is an immense honour for me to be invited by the President of the Lithuanian Parliament to address the honourable Members of the Seimas here today. 

The Seimas is not only the home of Lithuanian democracy. It is also a symbol of Lithuania’s contribution to the reunification of a free and democratic Europe – after decades of Cold War and insurmountable borders cutting our continent in two. 

35 years ago, you, the people of Lithuania, bravely stood up for freedom and independence. You peacefully and courageously opposed and eventually defeated totalitarian oppression and subjugation. 

I still vividly remember the pictures of the Baltic Way in 1989. Two million people coming together to form a 600 kilometre-long human chain! 

In 1990, when your people stood up and declared their country’s independence, and again in January 1991 when Soviet tanks tried to destroy that very independence, the world witnessed something extraordinary: a resolute nation defying one of the most powerful regimes in history. 

Lithuania’s story, your story, is one of courage, determination and unwavering belief in the values we all hold dear: democracy, freedom, and a people’s right to shape their own future.

Today, these fundamental principles and values are under attack once again. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it started a war against our freedom, stability and peace. A war threatening the international order as a whole. Every day, innocent lives are lost in Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine; a war that causes unspeakable suffering to the Ukrainian people. Not just on the front lines, but right in the middle of their everyday lives: in cities and villages, in restaurants, hospitals, and schools. 

In pursuing its imperial aspiration of restoring Russian hegemony across large parts of Eastern and Central Europe, Russia’s leadership shows nothing but contempt for international law and the rules-based international order. 

We are witnessing how Russia is rapidly gearing up its armaments production and dramatically building up its armed forces. 

All this leaves no doubt: For Russia, Ukraine is only the beginning. 

Already today Russia is trying to undermine the unity of our societies, of the European Union, and of NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization with hybrid means.

Putin’s real enemy is our free and independent, democratic way of life. Values the Lithuanian people have fought to obtain for decades. 

We must ensure that Putin cannot and will not have his way. He must not succeed. The consequences would be horrific. Not only for Ukraine, not only for Europe, but for all freedom-loving nations around the world. 

That is why Germany is one of the strongest supporters when it comes to helping Ukraine to restore its territorial integrity. 

It is our common responsibility to strengthen its resilience. 

And it is in our power to support Ukraine in fighting and winning this war.

I can assure you that we will not relent in our efforts! 

It is in our national interest, and it is an issue that matters to me personally. 

But I don’t need to tell you how much Russia’s attack on Ukraine has increased the threat to European security. You have had to deal with an immediate, dire threat from Russia and Belarus for years. In 2014, we all woke up to Russia attacking Crimea. But instead of responding to this wake-up call like you did, we turned around and hit the snooze button.

Members of Parliament,

I grew up as a child of the Cold War. I vividly remember the tension, in this period of fragile stability. For more than forty years, Germany itself was at the frontline of that divide. Split between two worlds, between democracy and dictatorship, between freedom and oppression. 

I know, and so do many other Germans, what it feels like to be the eastern flank. For many of us, NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization was not an abstract concept. It was the shield that safeguarded our freedom. 

We remember with a deep sense of gratitude how we were able to rely on our staunch Allies. I recall how these Allies became friends. 

Friends that were ready to stand up to defend our territorial integrity and common freedom. 

Today, our Baltic and eastern Allies can expect the same from us.

Your security is our security. 

Your freedom is our freedom. 

Your sovereignty is our sovereignty. 

This is our unwavering commitment! 

Last year, I announced the decision of the German government to deploy a full combat-ready brigade here in Lithuania – in response to Lithuania's request and in full alignment with NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's defence and force planning. 

This decision has become a lighthouse project of our Zeitenwende: 

A strong message that for us, national defence is collective defence. That Lithuania’s security is Germany’ security. 

With our decision, we underscore the strong bonds of partnership and friendship between Germans and Lithuanians. Bearing in mind the terrible experience Lithuanians had to go through with Nazi-Germany in the first half of the last century this friendship means a lot to me personally and to the German people. 

With this decision, we reinforce the strength of our Alliance and we deliver on our promise to protect a free and democratic Europe. Our soldiers will stand shoulder to shoulder with Lithuanian forces, ready to defend this country. Just as the Alliance as a whole is prepared to defend every other inch of NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization territory. 

Since I took office, there have been few countries I got to know equally as well and cherish as much as yours. The intensity of exchange between our two ministries and our armed forces is unique. 

I have lost count of the number of meetings I had with my colleague, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, who visited Berlin just two weeks ago and who will travel with me to Szczecin later today. The extent of coordination at all levels is truly outstanding. 

We have experienced first-hand why Lithuanians have earned their reputation as people that get things done. 

I would like to thank you, the Honourable Members of Parliament, for your strong and unwavering support in the implementation of this decision and the build-up of our brigade. 

Be it passing the law recognizing military infrastructure as a project of national importance, which greatly helped us speed up our planning processes. 

Be it the crucial role you played in adopting an impressive defence budget amounting to 3.2 percent of your GDP.  

Or be it your support for the opening of a Rheinmetall ammunition factory, which will help to further intensify our defense partnership. 

All of this shows your dedication and the extraordinary level of commitment, for which I would like to thank you. 

The ratification of the Stationing Agreement by the Seimas will be another important milestone on our common path. 

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our German Members of Parliament, some of whom have come here with me today and whose support of this historic project is crucial. 

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to say how grateful we are for the warm welcome extended to our service personnel here in Lithuania. 

We do not take this hospitality for granted. It will further reinforce the bond between our nations and between our people. 

I have heard many stories from our soldiers: Being greeted in the streets and being thanked for their service. Stories of local people buying them a cup of coffee to say thank you. 

These experiences are moving not only for our servicemen and women, but also for me personally. 

I am glad that our newly appointed Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Huber, is here with us today. And I am sure that in a year or two, he will have many more stories to tell about how our two people have forged new friendships and bonds. 

Bonds that will last for many generations to come. 

Bonds that will go far beyond a mere military cooperation. 

Bonds that will shape the relations between our two peoples.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This deployment is not just about deterrence and Germany’s commitment to the security of our Allies. It is about partnership. 
It is about strengthening the bonds of trust and cooperation between our nations. 

This is in our shared interest. And it is our shared responsibility to make this flagship project a success. 

We all are and remain committed to the road map that we have agreed on last December – with the clear goal to deploy the brigade to Lithuania by 2027 – provided that the necessary infrastructure is operational by that time. 

The Activation Staff will be established later this year. By 2025, we plan to deploy roughly 500 service personnel. In 2026, we will transfer further personnel as well as the command of our multinational Battle Group in Lithuania to our Brigade. Step by step we will reach the milestones set out by our roadmap. Together we will achieve the goals that we have agreed upon! 

In this endeavour, we can build on what is already a strong and robust bond that is now entering into a new era. 

Our bilateral relations are based on solidarity and partnership in the EUEuropean Union and in NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as on a close network of contacts in business, science and academia, culture and society.

In the field of defence, Lithuania and Germany have cooperated in various forms for decades – for example by attending each other’s military academies.

The Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence of this Parliament, Arvydas Pocius who served as Lithuanian Chief of Defence 10 years  ago, attended the German General Staff Officer Course back in 1997. What a great sign of our long partnership.

In 2017, Germany took the lead of the multinational Battle Group in Lithuania – in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its hybrid war in eastern Ukraine. 

Service personnel from Lithuania and Germany jointly participate in exercises such as Grand Quadriga, Northern Coasts or BALTOPS, yet another proof of the excellent cooperation between our countries. 

Our servicemen and women also jointly take part in international missions like KFORKosovo Force or EUNAVFOREuropean Union Naval Forces. 

Already today, both armed forces rely on the same armoured fighting vehicle – the Boxer – and on the same howitzer for the artillery troops: the Panzerhaubitze 2000. Germany stands ready to also assist Lithuania in building up an armoured brigade with modern main battle tanks Leopard II A 8 – once the procurement decision in Lithuania has been made. 

We all know: By using the same equipment and by becoming more interoperable, we can increase the effectiveness and combat power of our jointly operating forces and ideally improve interchangeability. 

We see great potential to expand our bilateral cooperation, be it on defence projects, as part of cyber initiatives, in the field of energy security, in trade and investments and also in the field of culture and language. This is why we welcome the strategic guidelines adopted by the Lithuanian government which aim to strengthen our bilateral relations even further.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Multinational cooperation is part of our German DNA. That is why we have been one of the main Allies that contribute to strengthening NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization’s eastern flank. 

The German armed forces are ready to become a central pillar of conventional deterrence and defence in Europe. We are aware of our responsibility as a central logistics hub in Europe to make sure that troops can rapidly move from the Atlantic to the eastern flank if necessary.

We are contributing substantially to all domains of the NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization Force Model. By next year, more than 35,000 German troops, 200 aircraft, two frigates and additional forces will be operationally ready within just 30 days. 

Germany has been a key supporter right from the start when NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization started to gradually build up its presence in the Baltics over the past decades, starting with Air Policing in 2004.

Right after taking office last year, I launched the 3+3 format that brings together the three Baltic Allies and the three Framework Nations – the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany. 

This format has evolved into a multi-layered architecture that taps the potential of cooperation between all six nations. It creates a maximum of synergies and increases the effectiveness and credibility of NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's deterrence at this exposed part of the eastern flank. 

At the same time, the Multinational Corps North East in Szczecin, and the German-Netherlands Corps in Münster have become NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's central multinational warfighting headquarters for deterrence and defense of the north-eastern flank. Germany supports Lithuania's aspirations to become a framework nation – of the Multinational Corps North East together with Poland, Denmark and Germany.

When it comes to our defence budget: I am working hard to ensure that our spending and investments will continue to rise. Two percent of GDP is only the baseline of our defence spending. This is the decision of the Heads of State and Government of our Alliance. And this is the basis for our defense planning in Germany. 

All NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization partners must move beyond these 2 percent. Lithuania is a role model in this regard, also for my country.

We are doing everything to prepare the Bundeswehr for the challenges of today and tomorrow. 

This includes speeding up procurement processes, restructuring our armed forces as well as rethinking and improving our recruitment and retention process for service personnel. 

Germany, like many other countries, suspended conscription after the end of the Cold War. But times have changed.  

Germany needs to introduce a new form of military conscription. Only by doing so will our army prevail in a state of war. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We will only deter aggressors by leaving no doubt:  

We are ready and we are capable of defending every inch of our territory.

Effective deterrence requires close coordination between NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization Allies. And it also requires more European efforts within NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

The necessary means for that are all well-known: 

We need to spend more money. 

We need to become more effective. And we need to work together more closely – without putting national interests first every single time. 

Increasing our efforts to reduce the fragmentation of weapons systems in Europe is crucial to that end. We cannot afford to have six times as many major weapons systems as the US. We have to pool our resources.

We need to translate our common responsibility into common strength. 

We need to join efforts to close our critical capability gaps and to procure the same weapons systems. 

The fact that the new European Commission will – for the first time – have a Commissioner for Defence and Space sends a very strong message. And with Andrius Kubilius, it will be a Lithuanian who brings a huge deal of experience to the job. 

The European Commission can play an important role in strengthening our European defence industrial base. In other words: We need a Commission that will provide the right incentives to produce and procure critical defence equipment, standardise and harmonise our efforts and accelerate joint procurement.

Only then will we Europeans finally be able to bridge the gap between soft and hard power.

We need a stronger and more united Europe for the sake of a fairer transatlantic burden sharing in a world of multiple threats and challenges.  

And last but not least: 

We need to enhance our political cohesion by further aligning our various interests. 

We need to be able to define our own interests and collective objectives. 

Simply put: We need to show a more united front. 

Today’s strategic environment calls for bold investments, political will and a strong commitment to collective security. And above all: It calls for bold and swift action. Ukraine has been a wake-up call, maybe the last one we will get.

Members of Parliament,

We still have a long way to go, but we are by no means at the beginning. 

In fact, in standing here today, I am reminded of how far we have come since those dark days of the Cold War. And to be honest: That touches my heart.

We now live in a European Union, bound by common values and shared goals.

I am also reminded of how far we have come in European cooperation and friendship. We Europeans know that peace and security must never be taken for granted. They need to be defended, by our generation and those to come. 

I am convinced: Together we will ensure that Europe remains a place of peace, security, and hope for generations to come. 

A Europe that is united and speaks with one voice. 

That is what our commitment and what the German Brigade stand for: Unity.

„Jūsų saugumas yra ir mūsų saugumas  – Germany stands with you. Now and in the future.