The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the Republic of Lithuania have signed a 20-year credit facility to co-finance the energy efficiency programme for public buildings during 2023–2026.

Week-long events of the International Transport Forum (ITF) kick off today, Monday, in Vilnius, with a gathering of representatives of the Transport Ministries, academia and business from more than 50 countries.

The Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Transport Ministers met in Riga on Friday to discuss relevant transport issues to the three Baltic countries. They focused on the implementation of the European gauge railway Rail Baltica and the passenger train between Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. The passenger train between Vilnius and Riga is expected to start operating at the beginning of 2024.

A meeting of Baltic transport ministers will take place in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on 19-20 October. Marius Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania, will meet the new Latvian Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens and Estonian Climate Minister Kristens Michals to discuss the progress in the Rail Baltica project, the launch of the Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn passenger train route initiated by Lithuania, and other topical issues on the regional and European agenda.

The 1st Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB23), dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius and taking place throughout the year, concludes its programme at the contemporary art fair ArtVilnius’23, between October 13–15 at LITEXPO.

Vilnius was awarded the title of the European Green Capital 2025 in the final of the European Commission’s Green Capital Awards. In the final competition round in Tallinn, Vilnius beat two runners-up – Portugal’s Guimarães and Austria’s Graz.

The Commission is proposing for the first time measures to prevent microplastic pollution from the unintentional release of plastic pellets. Currently, between 52 and 184 thousand tonnes of pellets are released in the environment each year due to mishandling throughout the entire supply chain. Today's proposal aims to ensure that all operators handling pellets in the EU take the necessary precautionary measures. This is expected to reduce pellet release by up to 74%, leading to cleaner ecosystems, contributing to plastic-free rivers and ocean, and reducing potential risks to human health. Common EU-wide measures will also help level the playing field for operators.

While in Brussels, Wednesday Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas had a meeting with Federal Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius to address guidelines for implementation of the upcoming permanent stationing of a German Brigade in Lithuania. The Germans plan stationing the initial brigade HQ element in Lithuania next year.

The 1st Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB23), dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius and taking place throughout the year, concludes its programme at the contemporary art fair ArtVilnius’23, between October 13–15 at LITEXPO.