Central and East European Coalition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2018

CEEC Advocacy Week - September 2018

Washington, DC (CEEC) – During the week of September 17th, The Central and Eastern European Coalition (CEEC) will hold a timely in district advocacy week. This endeavor is especially critical considering the recent NATO Summit.

NATO remains salient to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to deter threats from the Russian Federation. CEE members in NATO provide key support and a rising number (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania) are providing 2% of their GDP towards defense spending to address the new realities. The Eastern flank of Europe remains nevertheless exposed to the Putin regime’s continuous aggressive disregard for international law and attempts to disrupt the post-WWII liberal international order.

The goal for this advocacy week is to encourage Members of Congress to continue their support for the CEE region. Specific items include supporting the recently introduced Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act 2018 (S.3336) and full implementation of all existing sanctions legislation; continued support for military cooperation with CEE nations; enhancing military assistance to nations occupied by Russia; and reaffirming U.S. support for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in their efforts to retain political sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The CEEC encourages the active participation of all our communities in promoting the need for greater U.S. foreign policy engagement in Central and Eastern Europe. This advocacy week will provide an opportunity for members of our communities to meet and advocate issues of mutual interest.

For further information, please contact the CEEC via email at [email protected] or by calling (301) 340-1954.

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Central and East European Coalition Questions Controversial Concert

Last month, an event titled “A Concert for Unity” was held at the Washington National Cathedral.  It was billed as an invitation-only affair presented in cooperation with the Embassy of the Russian Federation.  The concert announcement listed sponsors including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, among other, less prominent non-profit organizations whose mission statements assert support for the arts, Russian culture, democracy and/or religious freedom. The full announcement is available at wilsoncenter.org.  

The concert caught the attention of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) due to the controversial background of the artists listed.  Two of the featured performers are known agents of Putin’s campaign of economic and cultural influence to promote Putin's Russia and normalize relations with the Kremlin.  Conductor Valeri Gergiev and pianist Denis Matsuev are both on record endorsing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and occupation of Crimea, and performed in Syria while Russian warplanes were bombing Aleppo. Gergiev also performed in Georgia days after the 2008 Russian invasion, effectively endorsing ethnic cleansing of Georgians.

The CEEC considered the event an affront to the values of its member organizations and was surprised that the Kennan Institute and Kennedy Center would lend their names in support. Washington Post reporting indicated that the event was funded by a DC socialite who has a history of promoting cultural understanding between the U.S. and Russia, and that the Kennedy Center supported the event in name only.  Even so, the CEEC has pursued the matter further by writing to three institutions – the Kennan Institute, the Kennedy Center and the National Cathedral – expressing dismay and requesting more information from the leader of each regarding their rationale for backing the event.

While the CEEC understands that the aim of the event may have been to keep politics and cultural pursuits separate, this message would have been more effective if the event’s benefactor and featured artists didn’t have clear political ties. These artists and the source of the event’s funding certainly did according to Washington Post article linked above. 

The CEEC hopes that the institutions in question will respond to its letters and will publish any pertinent updates as they are received. The organization was established in 1994 to coordinate the efforts of ethnic organizations whose members continue to maintain strong cultural, economic, and political ties to the countries of central and eastern Europe.  It represents Americans of Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Georgian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, and Ukrainian descent.  Its member organizations, including the Estonian American National Council, cooperate in calling attention to issues of mutual concern, especially regarding United States policy toward Central and East Europe.  

By Karin Shuey, theEstonian American National Council (EANC)

The

Central and East European Coalition

Russia on NATO’s Doorstep:

The West's Response to the

Kremlin's Wargames

to examine the execution, outcomes and aftermath of Russia’s large-scale

Zapad 2017 military exercise

Ambassador Kurt Volker,  Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations

Stephen Blank, American Foreign Policy Council Senior Fellow for Russia

Eitvydas Bajarunas, Ambassador-at-Large for Hybrid Threats, Lithuanian MFA
Alex Tiersky,  Global Security and Political-Military Affairs Advisor, U.S. Helsinki Commission
  
Invited speakers (responses pending):

John Lenczowski, President, Institute of World Politics

Coalition Moderator: Mamuka Tsereteli, Georgian Association in the U.S.A.

115th Congress Policy Brief

Summer 2017 (last updated July 6th)

The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC), representing more than 20 million Americans whose heritage lies in that region, regularly highlights legislation to share its concerns and ideas with the United States Congress and Administration. The legislation listed below reflects our concerns for the region and we advocate for the support of our Senators and Representatives.

(Click here to view the policy paper)

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 CEEC and it's organizations have often met with Sen. McCain over the years.

July 27, 2017 

In light of the unexpected recent news about his health, the Central and East European Coalition wishes Sen. John McCain well in his fight with cancer. We express thanks to the Senator for his dedicated support for allies in Europe. A great friend to the region, and an outstanding public servant, his record upholds American values, and he serves as a role model for all. 

 Sincerely, 

The Central East and European Coalition

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[The CEEC has submitted the following questions to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in advance of the January 11, 2017 nomination hearing of Mr. Rex Wayne Tillerson

Questions for the Senate Hearing to Confirm the

Nomination for Secretary of State

2017

1. As Secretary of State, what would your strategy be to deal with Russian aggression in Ukraine and other Russia-related threats in Central and Eastern Europe?  How do you propose addressing Russia's perceived "spheres of influence" or national interests versus another country's territorial integrity and national interests?  What options would you employ to achieve Russia’s withdrawal from lands it unlawfully controls, such as Crimea, eastern Ukraine, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria?

2. What is your position on the sanctions against Russia with respect to both Ukraine and Crimea?

3. How do you view NATO’s role in countering Russian aggression? What is your position on maintaining U.S./NATO equipment and troops permanently in CEE? Please provide specifics.

4. Where do you stand on NATO enlargement, to include countries such as Georgia and Ukraine? 

5. What is your position on the Visa Waiver Program’s expansion to include other CEE countries, such as Poland? How would you make that happen?

6. Considering Russia's long history of using gas and oil as means of political and economic pressure, what is your position on U.S. assistance to ensure energy security and independence in the CEE region?

7. What should the Administration's priorities be on countering and exposing foreign disinformation, cyber-, and information warfare? How can the U.S. be more effective in fighting on this front? What interagency efforts are needed to be more successful?

8. What is your position on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?  Are you in favor of moving forward with these negotiations? If so, what do you think are the key provisions that would benefit the U.S.?

9. Do you consider Russia’s policies toward Central and Eastern Europe as being inimical or at least potentially inimical to U.S. national interests? If so, what concrete Russian policies do you consider as being contrary to U.S. geo-political interests in the region. How will the Trump administration address Russian policies in furtherance of its plans to make America great again?

10. Do you believe that U.S. interests are best served and cement long-standing friendships when Washington publicly lectures Central and Eastern European NATO allies about their internal matters, as the current Administration has done?

11. As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States plays a critical role in maintaining stability in the South Caucasus region through its mediation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. While OSCE Co-Chairs have determined there is no military solution to the conflict, Azerbaijan continues to violate the 1994/5 cease-fire agreements and has committed ISIS-style atrocities. How will you hold Azerbaijan accountable for its actions and ensure a peaceful and just resolution to this conflict?

12. 2015 marked the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, which was condemned as a crime against humanity by the Allied Powers as it occurred, but which Turkey denies to this day. Pope Francis publicly affirmed the Armenian Genocide stating it is an open wound that must be healed. What steps will you take to end its denial and reaffirm the proud chapter in U.S. diplomatic history to help save the survivors of the first genocide of the twentieth century?

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