In Lithuanian capital Vilnius, the visiting Danish Crown Prince Frederic and Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas went for a guided tour on bicycles, the means of transport already hugely popular in Denmark and now multiplying in Lithuania. While Copenhagen, the residence of the Crown Prince, holds 400 kilometres of bicycle paths, and the joke says that the Danish capital has more bicycles than inhabitants, Vilnius at the moment has over 5.000 unique cyclers (Prince Frederic as one of them), and the number of journeys reaching almost 105 thousand.

EU strategies on how to increase safety and efficiency of air traffic management, improve air traffic control and safety, and better protect air passenger interests were discussed today, October 10, in Luxembourg at the Meeting of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE) Council.

In a session marked by the tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa, Parliament held a minute of silence for the victims and then debated with the Commission how to improve how refugees are received in the EU. Political extremism was strongly condemned and new rules were approved for shale gas extraction, flight crew working time and the recognition of professional qualifications. This year's Sakharov Prize is awarded to Malala Yousafzai for her fight for girls' education in the face of the Taliban.

A virtual professional qualifications card, to make it easier for doctors, pharmacists, architects and other professionals to move to and practice in another EU country and an alert system, to make it harder for those barred from a profession at home to do likewise, will be introduced by a new draft law voted by Parliament on Wednesday.

A draft law to make tobacco products less attractive to young people was passed by Parliament on Tuesday. All packs should carry a health warning covering 65% of their surface. Fruit, menthol flavours and small packs should be banned, and electronic cigarettes should be regulated but as medicinal products only if they claim curative or preventive properties, says the approved text.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė opened a conference of the European Technology Platform on Future Manufacturing Technologies held under the motto "ManuFuture View on Horizon 2020". At the conference which is part of the official programme of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, representatives of European manufacturing industry and science will debate how Horizon 2020 - the EU's new framework programme for research and innovation - will strengthen the EU manufacturing industry, sustainable development and competitiveness in the period 2014-2020.

On Monday, the meeting of the EU's Chief Medical Officers and Chief Medical Care Officers will commence in Vilnius. The event will cover the EU's vaccination situation, best practices in dealing with youth's mental health issues, advanced medical care practices, and the future of caregivers. It's a traditional semi-annual meeting, organized in the country presiding over the EU Council.

4th October, Brussels. The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER I) mandated Lithuanian Presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).

President Dalia Grybauskaitė welcomed the participants of the Lithuanian-Ukrainian youth's civil initiative "One Heart" and the winners of the drawing competition.

Budgets Committee MEPs reversed the Council's proposed cuts in investments to stimulate growth and jobs in 2014 during a long voting session on Wednesday and Thursday. They also reversed cuts in funding for international policy, such as humanitarian aid to the Middle East and refugees. Parliament's own budget was substantially reduced.