Lithuania seeks EU funds to expand military infrastructure

Lithuania expects help from the European Union to expand rapid mobility infrastructure for NATO forces on the bloc's eastern border, Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said on Friday in Vilnius, reported dpa.

Following Germany's decision to permanently station around 4,000 soldiers in Lithuania, her country has budgeted €280 million for infrastructure development, Skaistė said.

At a meeting with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, she cited the expansion of roads and military training areas under the plans.

Lindner said Germany was taking responsibility for the security of its NATO partner Lithuania and was the first Western ally to station troops on NATO's eastern flank.

"We know that Lithuania's security and our security are linked," Lindner said, adding that the German budget would be used to cover military expenditure in the narrower sense.

"All expenditure that is not directly related to our soldiers is more or less the responsibility of the host country," said the minister, who on Friday visited German soldiers already deployed in Lithuania.

Germany currently leads the effort to enhance NATO's so-called "forward presence" in Lithuania, which was the third stop on his trip to the Baltic states.