On 9 March in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičiaus held a meeting with the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, and discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation, regional security, the situation in Ukraine, relations with Russia, the European Union’s agenda and energy security issues.

The European Council yesterday re-elected Donald Tusk as its president for a second term of two and a half years, from 1 June 2017 to 30 November 2019. Donald Tusk was also re-appointed as President of the Euro Summit for the same period.

“Lithuania supports the European Union security enhancement initiatives, however, the EU has to step cooperation with NATO and find more efficient ways of synergy with the Alliance in order to their implementation,” Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis said at the joint European Defence and Foreign Defence Ministers session in Brussels today, March 6.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė will attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on March 9-10. The EU heads of state or government will elect the President of the European Council, review economic and security situation, exchange views on the implementation of measures aimed at stopping migration flows, and discuss cooperation with the Western Balkan states.

On the occasion of International Women's Day Parliament calls attention to women's economic situation. Other issues being dealt with this week include the reform of EU asylum rules and the environmental impact of the production of palm oil as well as a debate on the rule of law in Poland. In addition political groups and parliamentary committees prepare for next week's plenary session.

On March 2 Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel concluded his visit in Lithuania with a visit to Rukla to meet with the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) soldiers.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the European Commission Vice-President for the euro and social dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis. The meeting focused on the Commission's economic recommendations issued last year for Lithuania and their implementation, possible scenarios for the future of Europe, and preparation for Brexit negotiations.

On 2 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with Ambassadors of EU member countries and candidate countries. The meeting focused on the next Foreign Affairs Council to be held on 6 March and the most important issues related to the EU’s regional security and international policy.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to discuss the security situation in the region and Europe, cooperation between Lithuania and Germany within the EU and NATO, issues related to the Atsravyets nuclear power plant, countermeasures against hybrid threats, and relevant EU matters.

Lead MEPs from Parliament’s political groups reacted on Wednesday to the Commission’s Future of Europe White Paper, presented by its President Jean-Claude Juncker to the full House. Some MEPs welcomed the Commission’s decision to outline five possible paths for the EU to take in the coming years, while others criticized it for not picking a clear preferred path or providing concrete examples.