Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius believes that after the illegitimate elections held by separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions the international community should not tone down its position against Russia.

Last year almost 40 000 citizens of Lithuania supported the national political groups by allocating 1% of income tax for their activities. The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (EAPL) is at the forefront of the list another year in a row. It was supported by over 10 000 people (more than 25% of all donors). Data on the amount and number of deductions is published by the State Tax Inspectorate.

Following the Belarus-Lithuanian business forum in Mogilev, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius met with his Belarussian counterpart, Mikhail Myasnikovich, to discuss bilateral economic relations.

Minister of Justice Juozas Bernatonis in Lithuania met with Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Francis Gurry. The two discussed the influence of the legal protection of intellectual property on the development of state and society, as well as obstacles in transferring intellectual property services to the electronic space.

On Tuesday, November 4, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius will attend the tenth Lithuanian-Belarusian economic forum in Mogilev, intended to discuss the most pressing issues of mutual economic cooperation. The forum will focus on transport and logistics, as well as trade and investment.

The new European Commission will start its five-year term on 1 November, but what will it be working on? President Jean-Claude Juncker has already announced a €300 billion investment plan, but there will be many other plans that will have to be scrutinised and voted on by the European Parliament before they can enter into force. There are also plans inherited from the previous Commission that have to be dealt with, from roaming charges to banking reforms. Read on to find out what is coming up.

Ukraine should swiftly form a new government and launch reforms, MEPs told the country's leaders following the parliamentary elections on Sunday won by pro-European parties. The European Parliament was present with an observation mission to ensure the elections were run fairly and transparently. In a meeting with Ukraine's president and prime minister the following day, the MEPs vouched to do everything in the EP's power to help implement the recently ratified association agreement.

Yesterday, on 29th October, the Governing Council of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania discussed the upcoming local elections in Lithuania. The Council decided to put up the lists of their candidates in the following cities: Vilnius, Kaunas, Druskininkai, Visaginas, Klaipėda; also in the districts of Šalčininkai, Vilnius, Trakai, Širvintos, Švenčionys, Elektrėnai, Molėtai, Ignalina, Zarasai, and Varėna. EAPL is also going to put up their candidates for the direct mayor elections in these self-governements.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius received the President of the American-Lithuanian Business Council, Eric Stewart, Vice President Luke Myers and other members of the Council. The Prime Minister had previously met with the guests in the United States of America. The meeting in the USA was held to discuss bilateral economic relations as well as the strategic partnership between the USA and Lithuania. This time the discussions focused on opportunities for US investors in Lithuania.

Stronger democracy and a "strategic choice for peace and Europe" was the Ukrainian people's message in Sunday's elections to the Verkhovna Rada, said Andrej Plenkovic (EPP, HR), head of the EP delegation at the international election monitors' press conference in Kiev on Monday. "Our assessment is very positive. The elections were conducted in line with international standards," he said.