From tackling terrorism to improving our environment, read our overview of what's happening in Parliament this week.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the members of the United States Congress delegation. Security situation with the upcoming military exercises “Zapad”, response to hybrid threats, cooperation between Lithuania and the United States in the fields of defense, energy and economics were discussed at the meeting.

After Latvia decided to ask for additional information from Lithuania and Estonia on a common liquefied natural gas (LNG) market deal, an advisor to the Lithuanian prime minister says that efforts to reach agreement with Latvia have failed and a two-way deal with Estonia will now be sought.

On 21 August this year, the Lithuanian State Defence Council held a meeting during which the decision to increase Lithuania’s participation in international operations was adopted. In the period from 2018 to 2019, the current level of the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ contribution to international operations and missions will be maintained. In addition to that, the Lithuanian Armed Forces will join NATO and Allied forces so as to reinforce the top priority fight against violent extremism organisations in Iraq and some of the Lithuanian troops will be deployed to the US-led coalition operation Spartan Shield in the Middle East.

On 28 August in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the following heads of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions: the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk and the Deputy Director Gizo Uglava, the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine Nazar Kholodnitsky and the head of European Union’s Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine Eka Tkeshelashvili.

On Tuesday, August 29, President Dalia Grybauskaitė will meet with President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Kaunas. The President of Portugal comes to visit Portuguese troops deployed in Lithuania.

Parliament is getting ready for a season of political debates and votes on important legislation in climate, migration, the digital market and other areas.
State of the European Union

Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis met with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

On 22 August in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, Ambassador Kurt Volker, who attends a conference on regional leadership at Vilnius University. The conference is hosted by the President Valdas Adamkus.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany and discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in the EU and NATO.