Members of parliament from the Baltic states have sent a joint letter to the chairs of U.S. Congressional committees, urging Congress to continue funding the Baltic Security Initiative.
In the letter, the MPs thank the U.S. for its support of Baltic security, which over the years has evolved into a strong political, economic, and military partnership, and emphasize that Congress has played a crucial role in fostering these relations. They note that in recent years, Congress has allocated funding for the Baltic Security Initiative, which has been used to accelerate the development of the states’ military capabilities and strengthen regional and collective defense and deterrence.
The Baltic parliamentarians stress that historically, the Baltic states have been strong allies of the U.S.: “We stood with you in Iraq and Afghanistan, we support Taiwan, Israel, and the democratic opposition in Cuba, we oppose autocracy in Belarus and Russia, and we fight alongside you for freedom, democracy, and peace around the world. Together with the U.S., we work for Ukraine’s security, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its transatlantic future,” the letter states.
The MPs acknowledge that they are fully aware of the tight U.S. resource situation, both domestically and globally: “That is why we are determined to defend ourselves. The Baltic states will spend more than 5% of GDP on defense next year and provide the largest military support to Ukraine per capita. We have long exceeded NATO’s minimum defense spending threshold. We will continue to strengthen our national resilience and civil preparedness, as well as continue to invest in host nation support for U.S. forces deployed in our countries,” the letter continues.
The Baltic MPs affirm that cooperation with the U.S. on security remains a strategic priority for all three states:
“This strong and successful long-standing military cooperation between our armed forces provides key capabilities that benefit the NATO Alliance and are designed to prevent further conflict in Europe. We hope this enduring partnership will continue to enjoy strong support in Congress.”
“Your support will be crucial for the continuation of the Baltic Security Initiative. Therefore, we urge you to support funding for the Baltic Security Initiative in the FY2026 Defense Appropriations Act and its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act,” the letter concludes.
The letter was sent to the chairs of the House Armed Services Committee; House Appropriations Committee; House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; House Homeland Security, State, and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee; House Foreign Affairs Committee; House Subcommittee on Europe; House Baltic Freedom Caucus, as well as the Senate Armed Services Committee; Senate Appropriations Committee; Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus.
The letter—initiated by the opposition conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats in the Lithuanian Seimas—was signed by 36 Baltic parliamentarians, 12 from each country, representing both governing and opposition parties.
According to the Saeima Press Service, the Latvian signatories include: Daiga Mieriņa (ZZS), Speaker of the Saeima; Edvards Smiltēns (AS), Saeima Secretary and Foreign Affairs Committee member; Jānis Grasbergs (NA), Saeima Deputy Secretary and European Affairs Committee member; Ināra Mūrniece (NA), Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Irma Kalniņa (JV), Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Juris Viļums (AS), Committee Secretary; Raimonds Bergmanis (AS), Chair of the Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee; Andrejs Vilks (ZZS), Deputy Chair of the same committee; Ainars Latkovskis (JV), Chair of the National Security Committee; Jānis Dombrava (NA), Deputy Chair of the National Security Committee; Jānis Vucāns (ZZS), President of the Baltic Assembly and Foreign Affairs Committee member; and Harijs Rokpelnis (ZZS), European Affairs Committee member.
As reported earlier, the Financial Times revealed that at the end of August, Pentagon officials informed European diplomats that the U.S. will no longer fund programs intended for the training and equipping of armed forces in NATO states bordering Russia. These potential changes would also affect funding for the Baltic Security Initiative.
For the 2025 fiscal year, 231.5 million dollars has been approved for the Baltic Security Initiative.
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