In order to improve communication between Lithuania and Poland in a coordinated manner, the Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Julius Skačkauskas and the Polish Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Rafal Weber discussed in Marijampolė the modernisation of Via Baltica highway and improvement of the border road infrastructure in the presence of representatives of the border municipalities of both countries. The Deputy Minsters and delegations of the countries also visited the section of Via Baltica between Marijampolė and the Lithuanian-Polish state border, where the road is being intensively reconstructed into a 4-lane highway.

President Gitanas Nausėda together with German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Vilnius University, where they opened the Curriculum Vilnae exhibition to mark the 700th anniversary of Vilnius.

On Wednesday, the Environment Committee adopted its position on EU rules to further reduce pollution and steer large agro-industrial installations in the green transition.

The bicycles collected during the #DviratisUkrainai campaign initiated by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as planned, this May left for Ukraine – today, with the help of the logistics company “Vlantana”, they were loaded onto lorries and began a journey through Europe. At the beginning of this year, Lithuanian residents, business representatives and institutions donated as many as 491 bicycles to the people of Ukraine.

Last Thursday, MEPs backed draft legislation to improve product labelling and durability and to put a stop to misleading claims.

To ensure a human-centric and ethical development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Europe, MEPs endorsed new transparency and risk-management rules for AI systems.

With the beginning of the warm season, Vilnius city dwellers have noticed a significant increase in road infrastructure renewal works. This year’s planned works are at a record level, with more than 100 kilometres of roads to be resurfaced with new asphalt. By comparison, last year around 30 kilometres of roads were newly asphalted, so the volume of this year’s work has tripled.

Last Friday, Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis inspected the Rail Baltica project implementation work in Jonava District. In evaluating the inspected section from Kaunas to the Latvian border, the minister discussed ways to speed up the construction of the European gauge railway in Lithuania as soon as possible.

Ahead of a Commission proposal, expected later this year, on further EU sources of income, MEPs assess the revenue side of the EU budget and advocate several new “own resources”.

“Establishment of a national division is one of the most substantial steps in respect of in scope and complexity taken in the history of contemporary independent Lithuania towards a new Armed Forces quality. It is a breaking point in the Armed Forces modernization brought about by the security situation in the region as a matter of necessity. Formation of division will not only enable us to ensure a more efficient control and training of our Armed Forces but also a better interoperability with NATO. Allies welcome and support this step,” states Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.