Dalia Grybauskaite

Lithuania's ruling Social Democrats sank to a distant third place in the first round of national elections, leaving center-right parties in pole position to form a new coalition government, surprise results showed on Oct. 10. 

Bulgaria's head of state Rosen Plevneliev received on Saturday the "Person of the Year 2015" award during his visit to Ukraine.

Plevneliev was awarded due to his contribution to Ukraine for his contribution to the defense of the country's integrity, sovereignty and European values, according to his press office.

The EU summit on the refugee crisis begins in a reluctant atmosphere, with President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė  saying that the agreement to be reached with Turkey would be “complex and at the limits of international law”.

Arriving at the meeting, Mrs. Grybauskaitė  told reporters that “we will agree on something. We will negotiate with the same conditions agreed last week”.

Two Bulgarians might turn out to be the main rivals for the United Nations Secretary General's seat that will be vacated by Ban Ki-moon late next year, Russian news outlet Nezavisimaya Gazeta has said.

Poland and Lithuania have signed the grant agreement on the first gas pipeline connecting the two countries, the European Commission announced on Thursday.

The project GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland - Lithuania) will "end the long lasting isolation of the Baltic Sea region and bring the energy needed for a new economic dynamism to the region," the Commission said on its website.

With fighter jets roaring overhead, NATO has inaugurated a military center in the Lithuanian capital amid growing regional concerns over Russia's military presence, sparked by the fighting in Ukraine.

Italian PM Matteo Renzi has proposed a new Marshall plan for Greece, with his idea back by the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, and former Commission president Romano Prodi.
Renzi is expected to table his plan to the EU’s socialists group (PES), according to Italian daily Il Messagero.

A move in Russia to review the legality of a 1991 decision formally granting Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia independence from the Soviet Union has alarmed the Baltic States and stoked tensions in ties with Moscow. 

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite signed on Monday a legal amendment, which reintroduces military conscription in the country.

The bill had already been approved on Thursday with an overwhelming majority at Lithuania's Seimas with 112 MPs voting in favour, the National Radio and Television informs.

NATO allies are scrambling to protect vulnerable Baltic partners from the threat of hybrid warfare, a Russian tactic that officials and experts say is based on deception rather than formal declaration of war.