Following the announcement made by President Juncker at the press conference after the Informal Meeting of the 27 Heads of State or Government in Bratislava, the European Commission announces up to €108 million in emergency funding to Bulgaria.

Address by UNOG DG Møller and greeting message from the UNSG at the International Conference “Europe Whole, Free and at Peace – 2040” on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Lithuania’s international recognition and UN membership.

In the bilateral meeting of Lithuanian and Belarusian experts on 13-14 September in Minsk, the Lithuanian delegation once again raised questions concerning safety of the construction of the Atravets nuclear power plant (NPP). In the meeting, the officials continued a discussion, which was opened by the Lithuanian and Belarusian delegations in Vilnius in June. Special emphasis was put on incidents that had taken place in the future NPP recently.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė who is currently on an official visit in Denmark met with Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to discuss the future of the European Union, security in the Baltic Sea region and bilateral relations between Lithuania and Denmark.

On 13 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius sent a letter of congratulations to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Jürgen Ligi. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister wished his counterpart success and expressed his belief that Lithuania and Estonia would continue making joint efforts to strengthen security in the region, to implement strategic infrastructure projects and to stimulate economic growth.

Political consultations of delegations of Lithuanian and Chinese Foreign Ministries led by Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Neris Germanas and China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Haixing took place on 6 September in Beijing. The officials discussed possibilities of expanding political and economic ties, cooperation in the fields of transport, healthcare, science and education, culture and other spheres.

On 10 September we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, the new challenges to European security encourage us to make a more active use of Lithuania’s membership of the OSCE to protect democracy in the region, enhance respect to human rights and the rule of law.

The agreement announced by the United States and Russia, as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), reinstating the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria is very welcome. All parties to the conflict, other than groups designated as terrorist organisations by the United Nations Security Council, must now ensure its effective implementation in order to restore the cessation of hostilities, enable the lifting of all sieges and allow sustained, countrywide humanitarian access to those in need as well as progress on the issue of detainees and missing persons.

On September 9, seismic stations of the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) recorded an unusual seismic activity in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) official news agency later reported that the country has conducted a fifth nuclear test. If verified as a nuclear test by the CTBTO, it would constitute a violation of the universal legal norm prohibiting all nuclear weapon testing.

The European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Julie Bishop MP, today launched the EU‑Australia Leadership Forum at the headquarters of the European External Action Service in Brussels.