Lithuanian president doubts EU can agree on joint debt for armaments

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is sceptical that it will be possible to reach an agreement on joint European debt for arms investment.

“We see a different perspective from countries that are focused on stability or minimal budget deficits. Therefore, I would not be overly optimistic on this issue,” Nausėda told Lithuanian radio, a day after a summit in Brussels on the issue.

He said the positions of the Baltic countries and Poland differ from those of other EU countries, which are further away from Russia and are more cautious about the issue.

Like Estonia, Latvia and Poland, Lithuania is particularly exposed to the geopolitical confrontation with Russia due to its location on NATO’s eastern flank. In view of the threats, those countries are open to the idea of taking on new joint debt.

Nausėda also argued in favour of taking on extra debt in a guest article for Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper (FAZ). In it he called for comprehensive measures to increase the EU’s defence capabilities.

However, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria in particular reject common European debt for defence. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz clearly rejected the idea at the EU special summit on Monday.