Lithuania, a country of 3.2 million which joined the EU in 2004, will assume its first presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July. Lithuania considers itself one of the most successful countries to overcome the economic and financial crisis and to return to sustained recovery and growth. It is the first Baltic country to take the EU stint.

The European Commission is poised to publish new payments rules covering ‘interchange’ fees, which are charged on card transactions. These could unfairly hit Visa and MasterCard, leaving rivals American Express and Paypal unfair market advantage, says the president of MasterCard Europe.

Europe needs to improve the ease with which economic activity can take place across national borders. It must complete the single market to boost GDP and create jobs, writes Mark Spelman.