20-03-2023
Minister Bilotaitė: the best assessment of the work of border guards is the increased public trust
Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė discussed the results of the activities of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) over the past year and shared her plans on how to strengthen the protection of the state border in the Pabradė Alien Foreigner Centre.
"Looking back at the last year, we have a lot to be proud of. The State Border Guard Service has not only been successful in managing crises and emergencies, strengthening the level of protection of the state border, but has also continued to carry out its daily tasks smoothly. One of the best evaluations of your work is the public trust, which has already reached 75%. I thank each and every member of the Border Guard community who has performed and continues to perform their duties with honour in this difficult period of challenges," said Minister of the Interior A. Bilotaitė.
Thanks to the efforts of the SBGS and the Ministry of the Interior, 530 km of fencing and 360 km of concertina barrier have been erected on Lithuania's border with Belarus during the year. Almost the entire border with Belarus is also monitored by modern border surveillance systems.
At the beginning of 2022, only 53.3% of the border with Belarus was monitored with the help of the systems, and by the end of the year - 96%.
Last year, border guards intercepted a record number of smuggled cigarettes, worth more than EUR 16.1 million. This is the largest annual amount of illegal cigarettes seized by the SBGS in more than two decades. The damage to the State was €14.3 million.
Work is planned to start on the construction of a border patrol path along the entire border with Belarus, adjacent to the physical barrier and the control strip. This will help to ensure a more rapid response by officials to border violations and damage to the physical barrier.
This year, EUR 4.3 million of state budget funds have been allocated for equipping the border guards according to the military equipment standard, in addition to EUR 8 million of EU funding. Border guards have been equipped with modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UAV interdiction kits, and more than 700 portable video recorders have been purchased to record incidents.
Last year, the army handed over €3.5 million worth of NATO-compliant weaponry to the border guards, and another €7 million is foreseen for the acquisition of modern weaponry this year.
According to Minister Bilotaitė, the Ministry of the Interior is taking the necessary measures to strengthen the readiness of all statutory services of the internal affairs system.
"We are consistently striving to strengthen the State Border Guard Service and our other statutory agencies. Focusing on the equipment, training and working conditions of our officers is a priority on my agenda and that of the entire political team," says Minister of the Interior A. Bilotaitė.
This year's State Budget provides for a record €755 million for public security. The salaries of public security officials has been rising steadily. Last year, it increased by 7.2%.