President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation aimed at strengthening regional security as well as on the implementation of NATO defense and deterrence measures approved at the Warsaw Summit.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations to President Michel Temer of Brazil on Independence Day, and wished his country and its people success, well-being and prosperity.

On 2 September the Lithuanian Armed Forces handed over ammunition that is no longer used in the Lithuanian Armed Forces to the Defence Ministry of Ukraine.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė expressed her condolences and those of the Lithuanian people on the passing of President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan.

On 2 September, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič was on a working visit in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The trade deal between Canada and the EU is the latest trade agreement to attract controversy. Negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) have been concluded, but it willstill need to be approved by the European Parliament, the Council and the national parliaments. On 31 August the international trade committee discussed the agreement and afterwards we talked to Latvian EPP member Artis Pabriks, who is responsible for steering the agreement through Parliament.

A coup attempt, terrorist attacks, a war at the border and three million refugees... Turkey faces difficult times as do its relations with the EU. Ankara has accused the EU of not condemning the coup attempt enough and demanded that the EU lifts visa restrictions or otherwise it could put an end to the refugee deal concluded earlier this year. Meanwhile the EU wants visa conditions to be fully met and is concerned about the rule of law and the country´s desire to reintroduce the death penalty.

At the invitation of Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius alongside the Foreign Ministers of Latvia and Estonia took part in the meetings marking the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and the Baltic states on 30 August in Stockholm.

The respect of human rights and the rule of law in Turkey in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt will be a crucial test for the state of the country’s democracy, said Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday. They assessed the results of last week’s fact-finding mission to Turkey by the committee chair and rapporteur and stressed the need for constant monitoring.

The European Commission has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. Ireland must now recover the illegal aid.