Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has had a telephone conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

On behalf of the Lithuanian people and his own behalf, President Gitanas Nausėda extended congratulations to Mary Simon, 30th Governor General of Canada, on her installation.

The European Commission has today adopted a Recommendation for a Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an EU-UK agreement on Gibraltar. The Commission also presented its proposal for negotiating guidelines.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania informs that it has received a notification from Taipei that a Taiwanese representative office will be opened in Lithuania. It will start its activities as soon as the head of the office arrives already this summer.

By two separate decisions adopted today, the European Commission has (i) re-approved €1.2 billion rescue aid to Transportes Aéreos Portugueses SGPS S.A. (“TAP Air Portugal”), and (ii) opened an investigation to assess whether the restructuring aid Portugal plans to grant to TAP is in line with EU rules on State aid granted to companies in difficulty.

Deep concern expressed by MEPs over constant attacks and pressure on Turkish opposition parties, in a resolution adopted on Thursday on 8 July 2021.

The EU should continue talking to China about global challenges like climate change and health crises, while raising its concerns over systemic human rights violations.

Devastating floods killed dozens in Germany and Belgium after record rainfall. The rivers broke their banks.

On the evening of 13 July, Government Chancellor Giedrė Balčytytė visiting Turkey as part of the delegation led by Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, which also included Vice-Minister of the Interior Arnoldas Abramavičius, met with Turkey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Minister for the Interior Süleyman Soylu in Ankara. The main purpose of the visit to Ankara was to seek joint action against current illegal migration flows from Belarus to Lithuania with a view to preventing the emergence of a new illegal migration route to Lithuania via Belarus, and dismantling the existing criminal cross-border human smuggling schemes.

Last Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Iran.