Vilnius is going to celebrate the impressive 700th anniversary in 2023. It is going to be a celebration for entire Lithuania. Vilnius residents and city guests are already preparing for the approaching birthday. The versatile programme is being formed. It will cover various initiatives of professional art and popular culture, education and other areas. The anniversary events are intended to gather the communities, to create continued initiatives, to promote active exchange of knowledge, and to raise the festive atmosphere not only in Lithuania but also abroad. The events of the 700th anniversary’s programme have already been started, while their peak is expected in 2023.

With the view to create a future-orientated, sustainable and green transport system, Lithuania is ready to change the structure of future travels, ensure environmentally-friendly public transport, increase electromobility, promote the usage of hydrogen and other alternative fuels and urban sustainable mobility. Julius Skačkauskas, Vice-minister of Transport and Communications, elaborated on these ideas at the Transport Innovation Forum in Vilnius.

Four hundred fifty years ago, on 7 October 1571, the Christian fleet led by Don Juan of Austria won a resounding victory over the Turks at Lepanto in the Gulf of Patras. That victory, miraculously achieved by the Holy League even though it was clearly numerically and militarily inferior to the fleet of the Ottoman Empire, was attributed to the intervention of the Blessed Mother, who from that day on was venerated under the title of Queen of Victories and Help of Christians: the invocation Auxilium Christianorum that we recite in the Litany of Loreto was added following that miraculous victory. Every since then we have also celebrated the Blessed Mother as Queen of the Most Holy Rosary.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces will continue the participation in international operations in 2022. The latest draft resolution of the Seimas authorizes deployment of up to 323 troops and civilian personnel of the National Defence System to international operations in 2022-2023. The new mandate foresees contribution in two additional international operations: the EU Task Force Takuba in Mali and the EU Military Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique).

It is planned to launch regular flights between Lithuania and Kazakhstan next year. This is established in the joint Letter of Intent, which was signed on 12 October in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan during a visit of the Lithuanian delegation.

The EU plans to make life easier for consumers and reduce waste by making USB-C the common charger for smartphones and other mobile devices.

Continuing to support third countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has decided to donate to Tajikistan 60,000 doses of Vaxzevria vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca.

Young people can again register for free rail tickets until 28 October, thanks to the Discover EU initiative, supported by the European Parliament.

Lead MEPs from the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee decided to invite Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen to a hearing on 8 November.

Vilnius Airport, which is a part of the Lithuanian Airport network, has launched an international public call for tenders as it begins looking for a contractor which will construct a new module of a passenger departures terminal in the northern part of the airport. After the construction of this terminal with an area of 14.4 thousand square meters is complete, the total area of all passenger terminals at Vilnius Airport will increase by a third, and passenger throughput will double - from 1 200 passengers per hour to 2 400.