Belarus has long time ago become one of the major Lithuanian policy priorities. The country is economically relevant and at the same time politically problematic partner. Importance of Belarus is determined by the dependence of the Klaipėda Seaport on Belarusian cargo transit; last year it accounted for 30,5 percent of the total cargo operations (handling). Yet, Alexander Lukashenko‘s regime which is still considered to be the last Europe‘s dictatorship hampers the improvement of the dialogue between the countries.   

At the beginning of April German Chancellor Angela Merkel spent her vacation in the island close to Naples. She was visited by the Campania region governor Stefano Caldoro who afterwards posted a video on his website where he urged her to look at the difficult areas including youth unemployment rates 10 times those of Germany. It is not the first time when Germany is criticised by South European countries complaining that they have to apply strict austerity measures in exchange for financial assistance.  

The visit of the Turkish President Abdullah Gülo to Lithuania at the beginning of April was important not only for the bilateral relations but also with respect to the approaching Lithuania‘s EU presidency. Some time ago Lithuania has expressed its clear position on Turkey‘s membership in the EU.

A silent demographic revolution in China is determined by two main factors: the fertility rate  (35-40 years ago it was approximately 6 children per woman and now is only 1,5-1,6 children per woman) and the increased life expectancy (6 decades ago it was only about 40 years, today about 73 years; and 80 years are forecasted by 2050). The major difference of these demographic processes in China is their unprecedented speed.

Today quite a lot of attention is given to the geopolitical association BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Although this is neither a real political or economic association nor an international organisation, BRICS is  increasingly being treated as an actually existing international policy entity.  

Nobody would argue that recent developments of computing technologies could be equalled to the industrial revolution during which human beings will create mind assistants.

Recently Lithuania and Poland experience notable crisis in their relationship. Though economic relations between the countries were not very intensive, they managed to avoid major problems. But tension, mutual reproaches and inability to reach mutual consensus emerged at the political level.   

Recently Geopolitika.lt wrote that Ukraine had a real chance to sign the Association Agreement with the EU and take a serious step toward membership in the EU.

In October 2012 the Georgian Dream coalition led by a billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili won the parliamentary elections in Georgia. Mikheil Saakashivili admitted that his party United National Movement (UNM) has lost the election. According to foreign media, it was a democratic transfer of power; a new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili assured that Georgia is not going to renounce its pro-Western policy and that his party will move the country toward membership in the NATO and the EU.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Your open letter to President M. Saakashvili shows the situation in Georgia in an utmost worrying terms. If your efforts will result in deepening of the apparent democratic backsliding, Georgia would be compromised as democracy and seized from its European perspective. Then you become a person who closes European doors for Georgia.

In the light of today’s constellation of forces and interests in Eastern Europe, Germany needs to adopt a “new Eastern policy.” A future German approach should combine high level of attention to Russia with more care for, what has sometimes been called, “intermediate Europe” (Zwischeneuropa) – first of all, for Ukraine...

Today the city of Baikonur and cosmodrom comprise a complex facility leased by the Kazakh Government to Russia until 2050 (under the 1994 lease contract). The annual cost of renting the complex is 115 million dollars. Baikonur is under Russia’s jurisdiction and is considered a federal entity within the Russian Federation.  

Will sophisticated diplomacy and shrewd lobbying make the EU sign an Association Agreement, with Kyiv?

The current Ukrainian authorities feed the illusion that Ukraine can join the European integration project without getting the country’s fundamentals right. Sweet talk, topic shifting and self-praise will not absolve, however, Kyiv from fulfilling at least some significant preconditions set out by the EU for signing the Association Agreement.

On the eve of the New Year  the mobile Kulluk drill ship owned by the energy company Shell ran aground in the Gulf of Alaska, near Kodiak Island. This made reconsider the readiness of oil companies to pursue drilling operations under extreme harsh weather conditions. Due to Shell‘s failures Norwegian Statoil is going to postpone the beginning of drilling in the Chukchi Sea, whereas the French Total announced that the risk of an oil spill in such an environmentally sensitive area was too high to start drilling in the Arctic.  

At the end of the last year the world’s attention has again been focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and on the attempts of Palestine to bid for statehood at the United Nations. 

According to the representative of the Russian opposition Leonid Gozman, Russia may not like the Baltic States and be an uncomfortable neighbour for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, however is inoffensive for them, because it has finally accepted the fact of their independence.

It is easier to start business in Estonia than in Latvia and Lithuania, therefore more new firms are established in our country than in other Baltic States – refer to a new study SEB analysts and entrepreneurs.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso received in Brussels representatives of the Lithuanian Government and promised to help the country to pass on to Euro in 2015.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, signed in Brussels a joint plan on combating the illicit trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials, reported in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

This was stated by the Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevicius, speaking about the powers of negotiators with the Russian company "Gazprom".

Consul of the Consulate General of the Republic of Estonia in St. Petersburg Franek Persidski was declared persona non grata in the Russian Federation. Persidski became an undesirable person in Russia on the basis of parity - a little earlier Russians were not allowed into Estonia.

Polish President directed to finance the development of the Polish missile defence system.