Lithuania will appoint a special ambassador for coordination of institutional actions over the Astravyets Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Belarus close to the Lithuanian border.

Malta has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Slovakia. This means that for the next six months the small island state plays a key role in setting the agenda, finding compromises and addressing a range of challenges such as the migration crisis and the expected start of the Brexit negotiations. We asked Maltese MEPs what their hopes and expectations were for their country's firs- ever presidency of the EU Council.

On Thursday, 29 December 2016, Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, met with the delegation of the United States Congress led by Republican Senator John McCain.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius, on 30 December, visited the children who had suffered from military operations in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and who study at Vilnius Lithuanians’ School now.

On 22 December 2016, Eugenijus Jovaiša, PhD, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Education and Science, met with Amir Maimon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Republic of Lithuania. The meeting was also attended by Dr Maly Danino, Executive Director of Nitzan, Israeli Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities, and founder of the Department of Psychological Assistance to Persons with Learning Disabilities under the Israeli Ministry of Education, and Anat Katznelson, Senior Psychologist at Nitzan, Director of the Parent Coaching Programme.

On 29 December, Belarus Ambassador to Lithuania Aleksandr Korol was handed a diplomatic note with the request to provide comprehensive information about another incident, which involved the reactor pressure vessel for the Ostrovets Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

On December 23 Vice minister of National Defence Vytautas Umbrasas began his duties at the Ministry of National Defence.

On December 21 Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis met with Ambassador of Germany to Lithuania HE Jutta Schimtz and later – with Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Lithuania HE Bert van der Lingen at the Ministry of National Defence. The officials discussed bilateral defence cooperation particularly focusing on the regional security situation and Lithuania’s readiness to host the NATO battalion-sized combat group which will be deployed early next year.

“The Lithuanian foreign policy is based on long-term national interests and the continuity of their implementation”, said Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis earlier today in the meeting with the EU ambassadors, held at the initiative of the Slovak Republic that is completing its Presidency of the European Union.

On 22 December 2016, the Seimas has congratulated the elected President of the Unites States of America Donald Trump by adopting a respective Resolution.