On 24 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the new Ambassador of Norway to Lithuania Karsten Klepsvik and discussed bilateral relations between Lithuania and Norway, and the strengthening of cooperation on issues of importance for our region’s security.

The priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by ministers in a series of meetings.

On 24 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the new Ambassador of Norway to Lithuania Karsten Klepsvik and discussed bilateral relations between Lithuania and Norway, and the strengthening of cooperation on issues of importance for our region’s security.

The European Parliament should shrink from 751 to 705 MEPs when the UK leaves the EU, to make room for EU-wide electoral lists, say Constitutional Affairs MEPs.

This week Parliament’s committees vote on the new distribution of seats for next year’s European elections, reductions of CO2 emissions and measures to protect the Union’s bee population.

The future of Europe, the influence of Russian propaganda, new renewable energy targets: check out our overview of Parliament’s first plenary sesson of 2018.

The Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public (draft No. XIIIP-1356(2)), thereby endorsing the proposal to establish the Information System on Public Information Producers and Disseminators. Additional data on public information producers (disseminators) and their activities will now become publicly available in the System, in order to ensure greater transparency of provision of information to the public and objectivity of public information. The new provisions were adopted by a vote of 84 in favour to none against, with 10 abstentions.

On January 17 Vice Minister of National Defence Vytautas Umbrasas met with Ambassador of Montenegro itoLithuania Ljiljana Tošković, he welcomed Montenegro to NATO, the two officials discussed bilateral defence cooperation and security situation in the east of Europe and the Balkans.

The Seimas adopted amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of Paragraph 3 of Article 47 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (draft No XIIIP-1117(2)), which stipulate that the criteria of European and transatlantic integration embarked on by Lithuania are met by those foreign subjects which, in addition to being set up in a member state of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), NATO or state party to the European Economic Area Agreement, are not established in a member state of a political, military, economic or any other type of union or commonwealth of states functioning on the basis of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.