President Dalia Grybauskaitė presented letters of credence to Andrius Pulokas, Lithuanian Ambassador to Belarus.

Only death and taxes are certain in life - as the cliché goes - but that doesn't mean you have to like either. In the case of taxes, it's made worse by not everyone paying their fair share. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament, 75% of all Europeans believe the EU should do more to fight tax fraud. Read on to find what the Parliament is currently working on to address the issue.

On July 28 Lieutenant Colonel Tapani Aslak Mattus, outgoing Defence Attaché of Sweden in Lithuania, was farewelled and his successor, Lieutenant Colonel Örjan Ström was welcomed at a ceremony in the Ministry of National Defence.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė presented letters of credence to Gintė Bernadeta Damušis, Lithuanian Ambassador to Denmark.

Lithuania plans deploying its first team of six military instructors to U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve as of the beginning of next year to contribute to U.S. efforts of fighting the Islamic State (ISIL) in Iraq. Lithuanians will be part of the operation in composition of a Danish contingent and assist in training Iraqi forces to fight ISIL.

On 22 July Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius met with the US Congress delegation visiting Lithuania and discussed the following items on the transatlantic agenda and bilateral relations: the results of the NATO Summit in Warsaw; the security measures for Lithuania and the region and the Allies’ support in this area; fight against terrorism; the situation in Ukraine, Turkey, Syria; and energy, information and economic security.

At the working breakfast with the heads of the Lithuanian diplomatic missions, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, discussed foreign policy developments, achievements, and challenges of recent years. The diplomats shared their accomplishments, pending problems, and planned activities with the Speaker of the Seimas. The Speaker of the Seimas underlined once again that we all worked for the common goal, which was Lithuania.

On 18 July, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius met the new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson at the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union held in Brussels.

“In the context of the present security situation and challenges, the European Union and NATO need a deeper cooperation to be able to provide security in Europe and beyond. Both NATO and the EU possess versatile instruments which would undoubtedly complement efforts of both organisations to respond to emerging threats,” Rima Malakauskienė, Deputy Head of the Department for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, said at the EU Defence Policy Directors meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, on July 22.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is on an official visit to Lithuania. Later in the day, after their meeting in the Presidential palace, the two presidents will attend the opening ceremony of the Croatian Embassy in Vilnius.