President Antonio Tajani and MEPs representing Parliament’s political groups visited Bulgaria on 21 November to discuss the country’s upcoming EU Council presidency.

On 20 November in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithaunia Linas Linkevičius met with the Speaker of the Riksdag of the Kingdom of Sweden Urban Ahlin, who is visiting Lithuania.

This week MEPs discuss a ban on glyphosate, vote on new rules for an easier distribution of online TV and radio programmes and participate in a conference on Africa.

Sometimes foreign companies that want access to the EU market sell their products at abnormally low prices: lower than the prices charged for home consumption, which harms European producers. Dumping prices can be because of lack of competition in the country where the product was produced, heavy state interference in the production process or even because the company in question disregarded international labour and environmental standards.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė attends the European Council meeting to discuss measures to be undertaken by the EU and its member states in fighting against social exclusion, reducing unemployment and ensuring better working conditions for European people.

The Seimas approved the amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, which expanded the basis for banning an alien from the Republic of Lithuania for a long-term. The new amendments provide for an entry ban on aliens related to large-scale corruption, money laundering, and violations of human rights. The amendments were adopted unanimously by 91 votes in favour.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and members of the delegation accompanying him met with representatives of the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technology University that score particularly highly in world rankings, as well as with representatives from Singapore’s lead Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Today another scandalous debate on ‘The situation of the rule of law and democracy in Poland’ took place in the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg. Frans Timmermans, first Vice-President of the European Commission, attacked the Polish government in accusing it of alleged violation of the rule of law in force in the European Union. He was joined by members from other political groups of the EP, i.e. European United Left/Nordic Green Left Group, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, and the Greens, who also added some grotesque charge regarding limitation of women's rights, including pension and reproductive ones.

On 13 November, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius participated in the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, during which foreign affairs ministers and defence ministers focused on the African Union - EU Summit and the implementation of the EU Global Strategy in the area of security and defence.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting took place on 13 November in Brussels. In the meeting, discussions on the ways of strengthening the EU’s strategic communication were held at the initiative of Lithuania and its partners. In October, the Foreign Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Romania and Croatia sent a letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, drawing her attention to the need to strengthen the StratComms of the European External Action Service (EEAS), in particular the East Stratcom Task Force that counters pro-Kremlin disinformation.