On 21 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which discussed the action plan against disinformation.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister noted that the forthcoming European Parliament Elections would become another challenge, which would show the EU's resilience to third-country propaganda. Therefore, rapid and effective implementation of the action plan against disinformation is needed.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, presented Lithuania’s experience and achievements in cyber security.

The plenary session focusing on cyber security challenges and measures to tackle them was attended by many heads of state, political and economic leaders and addressed ways of protecting the cyber space and esuring its security.

According to the President, safe and secure cyber space is a precondition for the survival of democracy. As industrial and technological development rapidly progresses, cyber security becomes a vital part of national security.

The European Commission's decision to grant 323 million euros for the first stage of the Baltic power grids' synchronization with the continental European system is important news both to Lithuania and to the Baltic region as a whole, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said. 

"Second, this is important news in practical terms. This means not only that we are starting to actually implement synchronization projects, but also that we will have the maximum possible 75% EU funding," Vaiciunas told reporters.

This week dozens of global blockchain movers and shakers gathered at Blockchain Centre Vilnius in Lithuania to catch up on the latest developments in the blockchain industry. Lithuania is consolidating its position as an attractive gateway to European single market for global blockchain and fintech players.

A number of blockchain companies from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada, and other countries partnered or set up their businesses in the capital Vilnius just over one year.

Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, notably driven by the rise in the nights spent by non-residents of the country visited, reported Eurostat.

The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2018 grew in nearly all Member States, with the largest increases being observed in Latvia (+8.3%), Lithuania (+7.7%) and Malta (+6.5%), followed by Poland (+5.8%), Romania (+5.5%) and Belgium (+5.4%). In contrast, decreases were registered in Luxembourg (-4.3%), Ireland (-1.5%) and Spain (-0.9%).

Homanit, a leading manufacturer of medium-density and high-density wood fibreboards from Germany, has announced building a plant in the Vilnius region. The company is expecting to around 100 million euro and hire 440 employees in the first five years of operations.

The company explains its decision to build a production plant in Lithuania by the growing demand from local manufacturers, which Homanit already supplies from two plants in Poland.

Vilnius is never getting old – the city is celebrating its 696th anniversary with a modern and colourful twist. The birthday celebration will last for the whole weekend. Discover the secrets of the Old Town, enjoy a creative atmosphere of the city, and get to know the modern Vilnius.

If you are in Vilnius on the 24-27th of January, come join the party!

Polish President Andrzej Duda has granted high state awards to more than ten Lithuanian citizens for their merits in developing Polish-Lithuanian cultural, scientific and media cooperation and activities for the benefit of the Polish community in Lithuania.

Among those awarded are prominent literary critics, including the new Culture Minister Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, museum workers, journalists and translators.

Lithuanian film centre published new catalogues “Lithuanian Feature Films 2018–2019“, “Lithuanian Documentary Films 2018–2019“ and “Lithuanian Animation and UR Films 2015–2019“ presenting new and upcoming films of Lithuanian production companies. There you will find all the information about 32 feature films, 47 documentaries, 29 animations and 5 interactive and virtual reality films.

This list of recommendations, carefully compiled by three Lithuanian music writers and bloggers, provides a great introduction to what is hot right now in the Lithuanian music scene.