On Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture in Lithuania Vigilijus Jukna submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius. The minister the move was prompted by family issues.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius met with the outgoing Irish Ambassador to Lithuania, Philomena Murnaghan. The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for her personal contribution to the development of good bilateral relations and Irish cooperation and support in the lead to and during the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On 12 July, Saturday, inauguration events for President Dalia Grybauskaitė will be held in Vilnius.

"A successful Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) was not a mere case of beginner's luck.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė paid a visit to the USS Oscar Austin destroyer. The ship which belongs to the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet has been sent to Klaipėda Seaport showing solidarity with the Baltic countries and providing support to enhance Lithuania's and regional security.

MEPs gathered this week for the first session of the European Parliament following the European elections. They elected the president, vice-presidents and quaestors and also debated the outcome of the latest EU summit. As Italy took over the helm of the EU Council from Greece on 1 July, the achievements of the outgoing and the priorities of the incoming presidency were also discussed. Read on for the highlights of the plenary session on 1-3 July.

The Lithuanian Government has begun the ratification procedure of the European Union (EU) Association Agreements with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, which were signed five days ago.

Progress on European Monetary Union (EMU), jobs and growth, border and migration management and EU maritime policies topped the list of achievements under Greece's EU Presidency cited by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in a plenary debate with MEPs on Wednesday. Commission President José Manuel Barroso summarized the Greek Presidency in three words: "logos", "pathos" and "ethos".

Yesterday the meeting of the President Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Minister of Agriculture Virgilijus Jukna took place. During the meeting the President underlined, that the Ministry of Agriculture is one of those departments which are suspect of the lack of transparency and the level of politicization the most. The President criticizes the leadership of the Ministry of nepotism, backing people from own surroundings, opaque and unfair division of tendering.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with a business delegation from Israel. The meeting focused on the prospects for Lithuania-Israel cooperation and opportunities to invest in our country.