Greece took over the EU Council presidency on 1 January for its fifth stint at the helm. It is a presidency that is special in that it includes the European elections scheduled for May. Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras will this week present his government's priorities to the Parliament and discuss them with MEPs. Ahead of this debate we asked the heads of the Greek party delegations in Parliament's political groups and the independent MEPs for their take on the presidency.

Today, on the Day of Freedom Defenders, during the speech of Vytatutas Landsbergis during the solemn sitting of the Parliament, members of the faction of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania have left the Seimas room of the 11th March protesting against huge fines imposed by courts for the use of the native language.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended condolences to Israeli President Shimon Peres on the death of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

On 9-10 January in Trakai, the traditional Snow Meeting brought together European and North American experts and policymakers in the field of international and security policy, who discussed the transatlantic partnership between the European Union and the United States of America, prospects for deepening political association and economic integration of the Eastern European countries with the European Union.

At a press conference organized on Friday by the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (EAPL) important issues of social policy, economy, introduction of euro and the issue of national minorities were discussed.

On Friday, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius met with outgoing Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to Lithuania, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi. The Prime Minister thanked the Archbishop for his significant contribution in strengthening and fostering the bilateral relationship between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See.

43 400 litas (12 569 euros) or 100 litas (about 30 euros) for each day of delay of the execution of court judgement on bilingual street names in Šalcininkai district – this is what Mr Boleslav Daškevič, Director of the Administration of the Šalčininkai district self-government has to pay. This was ruled by the Vilnius Regional Court on Christmas Eve, 23rd December 2014. There is one month for the execution of the verdict.

The Seimas faction of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania has issued a statement in which it stressed that despite the fact that more than two decades ago Polish community in Lithuania actively supported and defended the independence of Lithuania, now its rights to use its native language are still being limited and even huge fines are imposed for the use of it.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the participants of the Snow Meeting to discuss foreign policy and security issues. They reviewed the role of the European Union and the United States in ensuring international security, the process of further European integration of the Eastern partners, and the situation in Ukraine.

Today Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius bid farewell to outgoing Ambassador of Belarus to Lithuania Vladimir Drazhin.