"Although we will have to finance the project on our own now, I would not rule out that the discussion with the European Commission and EU bodies on how much the EU should contribute to the physical protection of the EU border may be hot and perhaps even fruitful in the future," she told.
Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the project is carried out only in the shortest possible time, but also in a transparent manner, "so that it does not become an obstacle to claiming any financial compensation later", according to the prime minister.
Lithuania's State Border Guard Service had suggested erecting a four-meter-high Y-shaped welded wire fence with concertina razor wire on top along the border with Belarus.
The government is planning to erect over 500 kilometers of the fence. Pyramid-shaped concertina wiring is to be put up alongside.
The installation of such a border barrier is estimated to cost more than 152.460 million euros in total.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said after visiting the border with Belarus on Monday that a physical barrier was necessary there.
"Whether that could be directly financed by EU funds or not – it’s more difficult [to answer]," she said. "We have never financed any fence buildings, but we are financing a lot of other kinds of equipment to make sure that the integrated border management is protective enough. And that's what we will discuss further".
So far this year, over 4,000 migrants have been caught in Lithuania after illegally crossing into the country from Belarus, compared to 81 in the whole of 2020.
Lithuania has declared a state-level extreme situation over the migration influx which it says is being orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.