Lithuanian Navy officer Commander Audrius Venckūnas handed over the command of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) to officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy Commander Dr. Jan Wijchers. The Lithuanian Navy was in command of SNMCMG1 from summer 2020.

In 2020, 1.8 million people travelled through all three Lithuanian Airports, which is 72% less compared to 2019, and 30 thousand flights were served at the airports, which is 52% less compared to 2019. According to the forecasts of Lithuanian Airports, in 2021 the enterprise will manage to restore about half of the passenger traffic of 2019.

MEPs supported the EU's common approach to fighting Covid-19 and called for more unity and clarity during a debate on the roll-out of vaccines and the EU's vaccines strategy.

The Commission launched the design phase of the New European Bauhaus initiative, announced by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address. The New European Bauhaus is an environmental, economic and cultural project, aiming to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability and investment in order to help deliver the European Green Deal. The core values of the New European Bauhaus are thus sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness. The goal of the design phase is to use a co-creation process to shape the concept by exploring ideas, identifying the most urgent needs and challenges, and to connect interested parties. As one element of the design phase, this spring, the Commission will launch, the first edition of the New European Bauhaus prize.

In Western Europe, railway and bus station districts have been living a renaissance for some time, transforming from areas that are off-putting to most attractive places to live and work, as they surpass other parts of the city in terms of access to convenient public transport services. The Vilnius Railway and Bus Station district has also been getting ready to change its face and open up to Vilnius residents.

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have invited EU Heads of State or Government, EU institutions, social partners and other key stakeholders to a Social Summit in Porto on 7 May 2021. The invitation coincides with the visit of the President and members of the College of Commissioners to Lisbon for the launch of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The National Cyber Security Centre under the Ministry of National Defence completed an investigation into the incident of the Emotet malicious code spread in the recent weeks and found that it had impacted computers in 15 bodies in the public sector. The most affected institution was the National Public Health Centre under the Ministry of Health.

The European Commission concluded exploratory talks with the pharmaceutical company Valneva with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Valneva would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase together 30 million doses, and they could further purchase up to 30 million more doses.

On Wednesday, 13 January, at 9.55 a.m., while commemorating the 30th anniversary of the defence of the restored independence of Lithuania, we kindly invite you to watch a video recording of the celebration of the Day of the Defenders of Freedom and the Freedom Prize awarding ceremony.

The EU has designated 2021 as the European Year of Rail to promote the use of trains as a safe and sustainable transport.