Politics & Society

Only two weeks to go until the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) hosts its first virtual Baltic Advocacy Days, with support from the Estonian American National Council (EANC), the American Latvian Association, the Lithuanian American Coun-cil, and the Lithuanian American Community. The event will take place March 8-12 and...

An Estonian Immigrant Makes it to the White House by Ave Maria Blithe Mike Calamus. In these trying times, there is nothing more uplifting than hearing good news and finding out that in the midst of daily doom and gloom, somebody has found success. By found – I mean worked...

Estonia has joined its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania in a bid to secure €1.4 billion in European Union funds towards the Rail Baltica high-speed rail link, U.S. politics media site Politico reports, even if that entails blocking the launch of a €750-billion recovery fund, following a European Parliament move...

On his first full day in office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a message for Estonia and new Prime Minister Kaja Kallas: Congratulations, Kaja Kallas, on making history as Estonia’s first female Prime Minister. The U.S. stands committed to our friendship and longstanding partnership. We look forward to...

JBANC is calling on Baltic Americans to join us in welcoming the new Congress and letting them know about the issues that matter to us! Baltic Advocacy Days 2021 will take place virtually March 8-12 and requires registration by February 15th. Participants will have opportunities to speak up for Estonia,...

On January 19th, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) held its hearing to consider the nomination of Mr. Antony Blinken to the position of Secretary of State. The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) drafted and submitted questions to the Committee to highlight the CEEC’s areas of concern. The Estonian...

Legislation signed into law at the end of 2020 included several items relevant to the Baltic countries and the broader region. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (FY21 Omnibus) had provisions for funding and policy that support Baltic and European...

Estonian American National Council (EANC) leadership recently took part in a video conference with the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Tallinn, Brian Roraff.    EANC President Marju Rink-Abel and Vice President Mai-Liis Bartling represented EANC, with Washington, DC Director Karin Shuey and Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) Managing Director Karl...

The United States, Sweden, Estonia and Baltic Air Policing participated in an air exercise across the region last Friday. Exercises like this help to strengthen the important relationships we’ve built with our NATO allies and European partners and enable us to effectively support our collective defense. The U.S. appreciates the...

"Light Stream", the winning entry in the Ülemiste rail terminal design competition.  Source: Zaha Hadid Architects and Esplan OÜ   The time-frame for the planned high speed Rail Baltic terminal in Tallinn has been announced, with work starting next year and the goal of completion by the end of 2025,...