The EU has promoted turning plants into fuel as a way to reduce carbon emissions from transport for the last 10 years. Today however, some say that biofuels have become part of the problem and actually have generated more CO2 than they saved, as the demand for crops needed to produce them has led to the destruction of forests. The EU now wants to limit the amount of fuel produced from food crops and shift to biofuels that are produced from non–food sources, such as waste.

On Friday, August 30th, a tile with symbolic footprints commemorating the Baltic Way was installed in the central square in Riga in front of the Freedom monument (28 Kalku iela). Identical tiles were installed on May 24th in Cathedral Square in Vilnius and August 20th in Tallinn. Time capsules were buried underneath the tiles with texts for future generations. Vilnius Mayor Artūras Zuokas also participated in the event.

On 29 and 30 August in Vilnius, Ministers and State Secretaries for European Affairs discussed the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and ways to enhance the cooperation between the Council and the European Parliament to best serve the interests of the EU citizens.

According to the Lithuanian Statistics Department, Vilnius' hospitality companies hosted 372,838 guests for a total of 730,274 nights during the first half of 2013. These numbers have increased by roughly 10 percent compared to the same figures for 2012.

How should the EU react to the alleged US spying? Will more warnings keep teens from smoking? Will EU data protection rules deliver as much as they promise? These are just some of the topics recently discussed by European Parliament group members on LinkedIn. Read about it and join to discuss Europe with fellow professionals and receive our regular updates on the European Parliament.

Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas held a press conference after returning from his trip to Afghanistan on August 25 where compound of the Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team was formally handed over to the Afghan National Army (ANA). The Minister thanked military and civilian personnel who had participated in the mission as well as to all the Lithuanians and families of the troops for their support throughout the operation.

Tuesday, August 27, Vilnius - On behalf of the Lithuanian people and on her own behalf, President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations to President Nicolae Timofti of Moldova on Independence Day.