"EU-China relations are key for the stability and prosperity of the world economy," EP President Martin Schulz said, welcoming Chinese president Xi Jinping during his official visit to the European Parliament on 31 March.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement to day:

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff.

The fourth EU-Africa summit will take place in Brussels on 2-3 April under the theme "Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace". Building on the spirit of their 2007 Joint Strategy, Africa and the European Union will discuss as equal partners how to deepen cooperation under these three areas.

International foreign policy and the Ukraine crisis

Recent events in Ukraine have confirmed that strong cooperation between the European Union and the United States on peace and security is of critical importance.

US President Barack Obama arrived in Belgium on 25 March and will be meeting the presidents of the Commission and the European Council on 26 March.

In the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with prime ministers of Canada, Japan and Georgia, the Ukrainian foreign minister, and delivered a speech at a plenary session.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations, on behalf of the Lithuanian people and on her own behalf, to President Karolos Papoulias of the Hellenic Republic on the occasion of Greece's national holiday - Independence Day.

On the eve of the first ever visit by a Chinese President to the European institutions, the EU and China will hold their second round of talks on an EU-China investment agreement on 24-25 March in Brussels. The visit by President Xi Jinping on 31 March is expected to give an impetus to the negotiations.

The Crimea crisis should be treated as a wake-up call to rethink the EU's relations with Russia and its eastern neighbours, warned Martin Schulz. The EP president addressed the European Council at the start of a summit on 20 March, focussing on Ukraine. Mr Schulz called the Crimea crisis "a massive threat to the security system", adding: "People fear the outbreak of a new Cold War."