As part of our mission, EANC works to raise the profile of a number of issues that are of interest to the Estonian American community.  We hope to give constituents useful background information and a better understanding of the relationship of each issue to Estonia and to broader regional security, so that they may best articulate their concerns to the 117th Congress of the United States. 

You, as Estonian Americans, are the most effective advocates for the security and interests of Estonia and Estonians in the United States and are encouraged to reach out to your Congressmen and Senators to voice concerns, interests and legislation before them. 

(As featured in the June 2021 EANC “Teataja” newsletter)

Three Seas Initiative (3SI)

The Three Seas Initiative is a collaboration among 12 European Union nations in central and eastern Europe that are geographically located between the Baltic Sea to the north and the Black and Adriatic Seas to the south.   The aim of the initiative is to develop infrastructure projects for energy, transportation and digital interconnectivity to facilitate commerce and cooperation along a north-south axis and provide an alternative to the historical emphasis on the east-west flow of trade.  

3SI projects are funded through private and public investments, and implementation is coordinated among member countries, as well as the EU and the U.S.  Just as NATO provides military and political security to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, moving 3SI from rhetoric to realization will achieve indispensable economic and social security for the region, and provide protection from the Kremlin’s political malign influences.

Estonia hosted the 3SI summit in 2020 with high-level support from the U.S., including participation by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  The U.S. delegation announced an investment of $300 million into the 3SI Investment Fund and emphasized a pledge earlier in the year to invest up to $1 billion if the fund continues to grow.  The fund is commercially managed and was created to attract international private sector investment into the initiative’s infrastructure projects.  The value of the fund as of the 2020 summit in October stood at over $1.3 billion, with a goal of raising up to $6 billion in capital investment.

The potential benefits of 3SI for the U.S. are significant, including the development of new economic markets for U.S. products; infrastructure for U.S. natural gas and promotion of energy independence from Russia; and investment opportunities for U.S. multinational businesses to work in partnership with local governments profitably. It provides a new avenue for the U.S. to continue to grow transatlantic ties with European allies and mitigate Russian and Chinese influence.

Congress is working on legislation to further support 3SI.  Reintroduction of last year’s Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act (TTSA) is expected in the early months of 2021.  TTSA is one way the U.S. can realize the benefits of 3SI, specifically on 5G telecommunications. The bill would authorize financing to our allies for cross-border, 5G-infrastructure development. It seeks to increase resilience in countries in the region where infrastructure deficits make them especially vulnerable to malign Chinese influence.  EANC will share more information about this year’s TTSA and other relevant legislation once it has been introduced.

EANC appreciates the support of the Estonian American community in our grassroots advocacy mission.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Karin at [email protected] if you have any questions on these or other issues, or about how to reach out as a constituent to your Senators and Representative.