On Tuesday, MEPs elected Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT) as President of the European Parliament until 2024, with 458 votes in the first round.

On 14 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis met with the new German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock on the margins of the informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union (Gymnich) in Brest, France. The meeting focused on bilateral issues, the key challenges facing the region and a possible joint EU response to China’s economic pressure.

MEPs will honour Parliament President David Sassoli, who passed away on 11 January, elect a new president and discuss the French EU presidency’s plans during the first plenary of 2022.

European Parliament President David Sassoli passed away on 11 January. The Parliament will honour his memory in a ceremony on Monday in Strasbourg.

On 4 January evening, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė had a telephone conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to discuss key issues for the beginning of the year: vaccination and efforts to curb the pandemic, the situation on the EU-Belarus border, and China’s trade restrictions on Lithuania.

France took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January. Learn more about French MEPs’ expectations for the next six months.

The Ministry of National Defence starts a new activity in the area of cybersecurity as of 2022. As the Government has approved amendments to the MoND areas of competence regulations, a new National Coordination Centre will be established at the Ministry of National Defence in order to foster the development of cybersecurity industry in Lithuania.

Digital issues, public health and the road to climate neutrality are among the main topics on Parliament's agenda for 2022. Find out what to expect.

The leaders of the EU institutions signed a Joint Declaration identifying key legislative priorities for 2022, and welcomed progress on the 2021 priorities.