On 8-9 December 2014, the European Union and the People's Republic of China held the 33rd round of the EU-China Dialogue on Human Rights in Brussels. The EU delegation was led by Gerhard Sabathil, Director for East Asia and the Pacific in the European External Action Service. The Chinese delegation was led by Li Junhua, Director General for International Organisations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently on a two-day official visit in Turkey, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This is a reciprocal visit by the President of Lithuania aimed at promoting bilateral political, economic and cultural ties, trade and business cooperation. During her visit, the President is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and a Lithuanian business delegation.

So far 9 subjects have used aid approved by the European Commission in September 2014 for Lithuanian fruit and vegetable growers who suffered from the Russian embargo. The aid instrument will be in force to 31 December, 2014.

The European Union and its Member States continue to mobilise all available resources to help contain the largest Ebola epidemic on record.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations, on behalf of the Lithuanian people and on her own behalf, to President Sauli Niinistö of the Republic of Finland on the occasion of national holiday - Independence Day.

A 12-strong delegation of MEPs will take part in the UN climate conference in Lima, Peru, from Monday to Friday. The 20th Conference of Parties (COP20) aims to set out the structure of a global and binding climate agreement to be concluded in Paris in 2015. In a resolution voted last month, the European Parliament reiterated the EU commitment to getting on track for a below 2°C climate warming scenario, and pledged to step up European contributions to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Lebanon, a country of just over four million inhabitants, is struggling to shelter 1.5 million Syrian refugees. "They are sharing our water, electricity, schools and hospitals with us," said Lebanese prime minister Tammam Salam. "The country was not programmed for this. It was barely programmed to handle its own needs." Salam was in the European Parliament on 2 December to discuss his country's most pressing issues, including efforts to deal with the spill-over of the conflict in Syria.

Russia's "neo-totalitarian regime" leaves open no legitimate means for a "sober-minded" and "pro-European" opposition to come to power. So the opposition needs strong support from the EU, which must understand that Russia does not equal Putin, Russian businessman and philanthropist Mikhail Khodorkovsky told Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday. MEPs asked him to say how they could help the cause of democracy in Russia and to explain his controversial views on developments in Ukraine.

The crisis in Ukraine and an update of EU data protection legislation were two of the main topics during the March plenary session in Strasbourg. MEPs also concluded the assessment of the Troika's work during the financial crisis and adopted tougher rules to fight money laundering. Meanwhile, the campaign for the European elections on 22-25 May is heating up as the political parties name their candidates.

New Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Keit Pentus-Rosimannus paid a visit to Lithuania on Friday. The Lithuanian and Estonian foreign ministers said they believe in the prospects of the European Union (EU) Eastern Partnership programme despite of the war in Ukraine and problems that Moldova and Georgia face.