Germany's retail chain Lidl, which entered the Lithuanian market last June, has unveiled plans to invest around 60 mln euros in expansion next year, the same amount as this year, but it would not disclose how many new stores it expects to open in the country in 2017.

From now on, food and cosmetic products left behind by passengers near aviation security check stations at the airports in Kaunas and Palanga will be given to those in need. It was decided to take this initiative after seeing the results achieved at Vilnius Airport, where since the beginning of summer food and cosmetics left behind by passengers have been given to those in need with the assistance of the charity and support fund Maisto bankas (Food Bank).

MEPs have fought for and obtained better support for unemployed youngsters and additional funds to boost key initiatives supporting SMEs, transport infrastructure projects, research and Erasmus+ student mobility. The provisional deal on the EU Budget 2017 with the Council was reached in the early hours of Thursday. After Budget MEPs and Council have formally endorsed the agreement, the new EU budget will be voted in plenary in December.

Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE) announces that during the third quarter of the year 3.5 per cent more people in Europe travelled by aeroplanes, while Lithuanian Airports contributed to this increase significantly. In addition, Palanga Airport, which finished the summer season successfully, is distinguished as the most rapidly grown small airport as it handled 61.4 per cent more passengers than during the same period of the previous year.

Latvia's and Lithuania's new car sales rose at one of the fastest rates in the EU in the ten months through October, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed on Thursday.

Electricity prices in the Lithuanian zone of the Nord Pool exchange went up by 16 % to 47 euros per kilowatt-hour last week, as compared with the week before – this was the first time in the history of the Nord Pool history when the average weekly price in the Lithuanian and Latvian zones was lower than that in Sweden and Finland.

The annual growth of Lithuania's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2016 was slower than the average in the European Union (EU).

The Latvian national airline airBaltic will start Bombardier CS300 commercial operations on December 14, 2016, on its route linking Riga with Amsterdam.

Commission approved an investment package of €222.7 mln from the EU budget to support Europe's transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. The EU funding will spur additional investments leading to a total of €398.6 mln to be invested into 144 new projects in 23 member states; two projects are from the Baltic States.

Statistics Lithuania informs that, according to the Labour Force Survey data, in III quarter 2016, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5 %, and against II quarter 2016, decreased by 0.5 percentage points(ppt), against the respective period of 2015 – by 0.8 ppt. In III quarter 2016, the male unemployment rate stood at 8.5 %, female – 6.5%.