An EP event on how to boost growth in the EU, especially in member states that have been affected the most by the crisis, takes place in Athens on Monday 4 November from 9.00 to 16.00 CET. EP president Martin Schulz will be the keynote speaker at the South for Growth event, organised by the European Parliament information offices in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

The European Commission is allocating €2.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the worst-affected victims of the earthquake that shook the Philippines on 15 October.

The website of the Estonian defence ministry was hit by a cyber attack at round 9.30 a.m. on 1 November while the rest of the ministry's IT systems work fine.

On 30 October, the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevičius, who is paying an official visit to Budapest at the invitation of his Hungarian counterpart János Mártonyi, unveiled a monument for the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila and his spouse, the Queen of Poland Jadwiga who was a daughter of Louis the Great of Hungary.

On 30 October the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER I) has found an agreement on a compromise text for a Council decision supporting the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention – the Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the ratification of or the accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound recycling of ships, 2009, in the interests of the European Union.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations on behalf of the Lithuanian people and on her own behalf to President Abdullah Gül on the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

On 27-30 October, a delegation led by the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Neris Germanas is paying a visit to Oman. Meetings discussed bilateral relations and opportunities to intensify them. The Foreign Vice-Minister travels with the delegation of Lithuanian businessmen.

The mass surveillance scandal and recent press reports on the tapping of European politicians' mobile phones are to be discussed with US authorities, by a civil liberties committee delegation to Washington from 28 to 30 October. "We will have the opportunity to discuss directly with US counterparts the alleged surveillance activities of US authorities and any impact they have in terms of EU citizens fundamental right to privacy," said Claude Moraes, who is the head of the delegation.

On 28 October in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Laurent Fabius. On 29 October, L.Linkevičius will hold a meeting with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo.

Every year more than 100,000 people try to enter the EU without proper documents. In their desperation many of these illegal or irregular migrants fall victim to unscrupulous human traffickers and many never reach Europe's shores, as the recent tragedy off Lampedusa reminded us. On 23 October MEPs adopted a joint resolution calling for a coordinated and above all more humane approach to this European issue. Find out more about the migratory flows to Europe in our infographic.