CEEC urges House leadership to reintroduce Transatlantic Telecom bill to support allies and counter malign actors
On March 17, the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) sent a letter to House leadership asking for support in reintroducing the Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act. In the letter, the CEEC urges action by the United States to counter Russian and Chinese malign influence with a “robust U.S. response andContinue Reading
Registration is open for First [Virtual] Baltic Advocacy Week
For the past three years, the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) with support from its parent organizations: the American Latvian Association, the Estonian American National Council and the Lithuanian American Council, along with the Lithuanian American Community, and sponsorship from the Baltic advocacy group, Baltivist, have organized annual BalticContinue Reading
A New Online Platform Looks at the Baltic Journey to NATO
The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) has launched a new online platform The Baltic Journey to NATO: Exploring the role of civil society, diaspora, governments, and media, which highlights the milestones of the events that led to a successful NATO enlargement and membership for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.Continue Reading
CEEC holds first virtual policy event “Resilience & Russian Interference: Neutralizing the Kremlin’s Campaign to Dismantle Democracy”
On September 18th, the Central and Eastern European Coalition (CEEC) held its first virtual policy event called “Resilience and Russian Interference: Neutralizing the Kremlin’s Campaign to Dismantle Democracy.” The motivation behind the event stemmed from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Op-Ed published this past July in the National Interest, and theContinue Reading
Biden-Harris ticket from the Baltic perspective
On August 11, Joe Biden announced his pick for a Vice President – Kamala Harris, the U.S. Senator from California. And just last week, they both received a mandate from the Democratic National Convention. During the democratic primaries process, we looked at the candidates and their positions towards the BalticContinue Reading
Final Results of Baltic Youth Advocacy Survey
Report contributed by Madelena Miniats With the Baltic youth advocacy survey completed, a total of twenty-eight people participated from the United States and Canada, all of Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian descent. The biggest takeaways were that young Balts are interested and ready to engage and participate in Baltic advocacy inContinue Reading
Joe Biden’s Vice-Presidential Picks from a Baltic Perspective
Report prepared by Madelena Miniats In early August, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is expected to announce his long-awaited vice-presidential running mate. JBANC has also been taking note on the different nominees and where they stand on foreign policy and Baltic-related issues. In this analysis, we’ll look at each ofContinue Reading
Leading Voices from Baltic Parliaments to Speak at JBANC 60th Anniversary Forum on April 28
In commemorating its 60th anniversary this week, the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) welcomes three leading members of the parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to a virtual forum on U.S.-Baltic relations. The public event on Zoom takes place from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT on Wednesday, AprilContinue Reading
JBANC interview with Lithuanian film director Karolis Kaupinis
JBANC’s contributing writer Willa Davis recently interviewed Lithuanian writer-filmmaker Karolis Kaupinis. Kaupinis provides insight into his most recent film, Nova Lituania, which has been picked as Lithuania’s candidate for the best foreign film Oscar nomination. He also touches upon his background in politics, career in film, and the similarities that canContinue Reading
Lithuania’s Female-Led Government: The Center-Right and Coalition Formation
On Wednesday, November 25th, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, named Ingrida Šimonytė of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), as Lithuania’s new prime minister. President Nausėda announced that Prime Minister Šimonytė will be given 15 days to submit an official list of ministerial candidates and a governmentContinue Reading
How Baltic Caucus Members fared in the 2020 elections
Whether you are sick to your stomach, or in the middle of a heart attack, this nail-biting 2020 U.S. election has produced plenty of drama. While the result of the presidential election is still up for grabs two days after the election, there are some things that are certain. ThatContinue Reading
Lithuania’s 2020 Parliamentary Elections: Victory for the Center-Right
By Willa Davis This October, Lithuanians took to the polls to elect a new parliament, or Seimas. During its time as an independent state, Lithuania has been home to thirteen different parliaments (Lithuania’s 2020, 2020), in both Kaunas, its interwar capital, and Vilnius. While the setting of the 2020 electionContinue Reading
JBANC reflections by Eduards Ozoliņš
It has been almost two months since I’ve concluded my Project Manager duties at the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC), which has allowed me some time to reflect on my year in Washington, D.C. I’m so thankful that the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation (BAFF) Scholarship allowed me to work onContinue Reading