MEPs will this week focus on the €315 billion investment plan to boost growth in Europe, discussing with experts its three pillars: an investment fund, an advisory hub and a project pipeline. The foreign affairs committee will discuss the refugee situation in the Middle East with UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl, while the EP will also prepare for International Women's Day on Sunday and for next week's plenary session.

Development plays a crucial role in improving people's lives around the world, but what is the best way to finance it? On 24 February the EP's development committee held a public hearing on how to mobilise all available means and types of financial resources for sustainable global development and poverty eradication over the next 15 years. The hearing, led by committee chair Linda McAvan, was attended by representatives from UN agencies, companies and civil society.

Lithuanian MFA condemns the murder of famous Russian politician and one of the opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov.

Religious minorities in the Middle East are increasingly under threat from jihadist groups such as the so-called Islamic State (IS). To call attention to the situation of Christians and other religious minorities in the region, the human rights subcommittee and the EP's Mashreq delegation held a joint hearing on 26 February. "Death has become something banal," warned guest speaker Nawras Sammour, of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Syria, saying the upsurge in radicalism was worrying Christians.

Concern about the lack of tangible progress in TTIP talks were voiced by International trade MEPs who on Tuesday debated their draft recommendations for the TTIP negotiators. Lively discussion concerned the investor-to-state dispute-settlement clause, dubbed unnecessary by the chair, Bernd Lange (DE, S&D). Meanwhile, the development committee adopted an opinion stressing the impact of TTIP on developing countries and calling for the deal to have an explicit reference to development policy.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius met with the outgoing Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Lithuania, Liu Zengwen. In the meeting the Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for his professional input in the development of good bilateral relations and the intensifying cooperation in the areas of business, education and culture.

During United Nation's open debates on 23 February 2015 in New York, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius met with his counterparts from UAE, New Zealand and Malaysia.

Member of the European Parliament, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Vilija Blinkeviciute together with her colleagues from the European Parliament have proposed to announce 2016 a European Year to fight violence against women.

On 17 February Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Andrius Krivas discussed Russia's aggression against Ukraine, preparations for the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga and the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy with Polish MFA Undersecretaries of State Henryka Mościcka-Dendys and Konrad Pawlik. The officials highlighted similarities of their positions on all the issues discussed in this meeting.

The Eurogroup reiterates its appreciation for the remarkable adjustment efforts undertaken by Greece and the Greek people over the last years. During the last few weeks, we have, together with the institutions, engaged in an intensive and constructive dialogue with the new Greek authorities and reached common ground today.