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
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
JBANC Statement on the Situation in Belarus
On Sunday, August 9, 2020, presidential elections in Belarus took place. During the electoral campaign, the peaceful mobilization of a significant number of citizens has been met by the Lukashenka regime’s use of violence and detentions of protestors, their supporters, observers, media representatives, and opposition candidates. Unfortunately, during the lastContinue Reading
80 years since the Welles Declaration
July 23, 2020, marked 80 years since the impactful Welles Declaration was issued in 1940. The Welles Declaration set a world-wide standard of non-recognition of the Baltic incorporation into the Soviet Union and helped Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania to preserve the continuity of state and to eventually restore their independence. DueContinue 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
COVID-19 Response: JBANC joins a Call for Utilizing Global Magnitsky Sanctions
The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) has joined with 23 organizations in a letter calling on the Departments of State and Treasury to utilize the Global Magnitsky sanctions program to address corruption by authoritarian governments during the current pandemic. The letter recommends specific steps to assist in followingContinue Reading