Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė highlighted the work done and said she felt deeper involvement from municipalities themselves was lacking.
“A combined way is needed here. It is not very fair to leave municipalities alone with a headache and expect the process to move rapidly,” Nausėda spoke at the presidential debate with Šimonytė on the LRT public radio.
He said Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has failed to ensure that all the municipalities would have shelters being set up at the same pace.
“Municipalities lack help. (&) The problem of civilian shelters is a pressing issue and the turtle-like step we are taking in installing them is really unacceptable for the safety of our people is surely the top priority. We live in such a geopolitical reality that we would not want to see dangers where we can then point fingers later and say, (&) we have not taken care of that,” Nausėda added.
Responding to the criticism, Prime Minister Šimonytė said the civil protection concept was drawn up to set out an action plan for expansion of the network of shelters. Active involvement of municipalities is very important for that, according to her.
“I agree that municipalities need help. But (&) civil proception is an independent function of the municipalities, but even without this, the municipalities know best the situation on the ground, what the buildings are like, which of them can be adapted for shelters, where they cannot be adapted, where they can adapt investments,” Šimonytė told the debate.
The number of air-raid shelters in a municipality depends on how responsibly the municipality has taken to set up them, as well as on the size of the municipality, the prime minister said.
Currently, a third of the population could hide at the existing shelters, according to Šimonytė.
Lithuania will hold the presidential election on 12 May.
