At the meeting of the NATO PA Political Committee, Kęstutis Budrys stated: ‘Strengthening Europe’s defence industry urgently is not optional – it is essential.’

Press release, 30 May 2026 (News ● Photos● Broadcasts and videos)

The Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) took place in the buildings of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania from 29 May to 1 June 2026.

Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, presented the first report on Lithuania’s strategic priorities within NATO and on new security measures at today’s meeting of NATO PA Political Committee.

In his speech, Mr Budrys said that the geopolitical order that ensured global stability for decades is shifting as zones of instability are expanding, authoritarian states are becoming more assertive, and power politics are making a comeback.

‘Russia is trying to destabilise and intimidate us and to test our resilience, vigilance, and resolve. Above all, it aims to discourage us from supporting Ukraine. Russia, together with its patchy network of authoritarian accomplices, continues its attempts to fragment and reshape the Euro-Atlantic security architecture to serve its own strategic and predatory interests,’ Mr Budrys stressed. He highlighted that recent drone intrusions into the airspace of the Baltic States and other Allies have raised serious concerns about security across NATO’s eastern flank and called for a unified, comprehensive, and credible response.

‘Lithuania continues to take steps at the national level to strengthen its air defence. Our individual and collective efforts – in particular, priority investments, improved coordination and procedures, refined legal framework, and the deployment of additional capabilities in priority sectors – are needed to address these challenges,’ Mr Budrys said. With regard to new joint security measures, Mr Budrys urged NATO to enhance its vigilance activity in the Baltic Sea, deploy additional air surveillance capabilities, including kinetic and non-kinetic counter-drone capabilities, and shift from NATO’s air policing to air defence, including defence against unmanned aircraft. Mr Budrys also stressed the need to strengthen public-private partnerships and cooperation in the defence industry, as well as the rapid implementation of the Eastern Flank Deterrence initiative.

‘The work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly plays an important role in strengthening Allied unity and helping to sustain durable public support for the difficult, yet necessary, decisions required for credible collective defence. The Ankara Summit will provide an important opportunity for demonstrating that NATO remains fully capable of defending every inch of Allied territory. Our adversaries will judge us by deeds rather than words,’ Mr Budrys said.

Mr Budrys outlined a threefold way forward: preserving unity, strengthening European defence, and sustaining support for Ukraine. He noted that there was no other way to address critical capability gaps and bolster defence industry than to significantly and urgently increase European defence spending. ‘Strengthening Europe’s defence industry urgently is therefore not optional – it is essential,’ Mr Budrys underlined.

He noted that a strong U.S. presence in Europe remains indispensable, both as a deterrence measure and as a visible expression of Allied resolve. ‘When it comes to our own stronger defence, our immediate goal is to ensure that Europeans become capable security partners of the US – equal stakeholders, assuming greater responsibility for their own defence,’ he stressed.

Mr Budrys stated that the new European security model should and will be shaped with Ukraine as an active participant. ‘It is also crucial that NATO continues to support Ukraine through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List and other initiatives. Support, however, cannot rest on the shoulders of only a handful of Allies. […] At the same time, we must learn from Ukraine – urgently and seriously. Its hard-won lessons must be learnt, translated into action, and reflected in our own defence posture. Ukraine’s European integration must be progressive and sustained – and Ukraine’s EU membership would be the strongest non-military security guarantee for both Ukraine and Europe,’ Mr Budrys said. He stressed that the Ankara Summit should send a clear message to both our Allies and our adversaries: NATO remains united, strong, and capable of defending its people, its territory, and its values.

At the NATO PA Political Committee meeting, reports were also delivered by Natalia Pouzyreff, General Rapporteur for the NATO PA Political Committee, Justyna Gotkowska, Deputy Director and Head of the Security and Defence Department of the Centre for Eastern Studies, and Dr Stella Adorf, Head of the NATO Russia Policy Coordination Section.

The engagement with India, NATO’s strategic interests, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy were reviewed by Tim Roca, Rapporteur for the NATO PA Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships, and Dr Rohan Mukherjee, Assistant Professor of International Relations of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The topic The High North in focus: strategic imperatives for the transatlantic community was explored at the afternoon hearing of the Political Committee. The overviews were given by Iris A. Ferguson, Senior Associate of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Programme of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Simona Malpezzi, Rapporteur for the NATO PA Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations.

The Committee hearings and the Plenary Session are streamed live on the Seimas website and YouTube channelAtviras Seimas (Open Seimas). Photos from all the events are published on the Seimas Flickraccount and are free for use provided they bear the following indication of the source: Photo by Olga Posaškova, Viktorija Chorna, Ūla Liškevičiūtė, or Lina Žižliauskaitė.

For more news on the Spring Session of the NATO PA in Vilnius on 30 May – 1 June 2026, please read HERE.

Lithuania last hosted the NATO PA Spring Session in 2022, when it was urgently relocated from Kyiv to Vilnius following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.