Politics & Society

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,...

Head of the Citizenship and Migration Policy Department at the Mi nistry of the Interior Ruth Annus has written about 12 myths related to foreigners' stay, studies and employment in Estonia and why they are not true.   ERR News has translated Annus' post from the Ministry of the Interior's...

  Chairman of the Center Party, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas proposed a possible question for the upcoming marriage referendum on an ERR talk show. Ratas said that the phrasing of the question should be specific.   He proposed the following question. "Should marriage remain a union between a man and...

  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is inviting Estonians across the world to give feedback. We would like to know how Estonian communities around the world are satisfied with consular services and the level of inclusion.   Valuable feedback will help us plan development activities in a way that best...

Earlier in October, the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) sent policy questions relating to the interests of its member organizations’ constituents to both the Trump and Biden campaign staffs.   Topics included the current situation in Belarus, the role of the United States in NATO, U.S. relations with Russia,...

The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) recently prepared and sent its questionnaire for the 2020 Presidential candidates to both the Trump and Biden campaigns.   The CEEC has been sending questionnaires on our issues of interest to candidates on a nonpartisan and fully inclusive basis since the 1996 Presidential...

On October 7th, the embassies of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) held their first meeting since the start of the pandemic.    Under normal circumstances, the embassies and JBANC meet three to four times annually to discuss upcoming events, policy and legislative priorities,...