US Congressional delegation visits Tallinn for NATO Parliamentary Assembly

TALLINN – On the eve of Estonia's 20th anniversary of joining NATO, a delegation of members of the House of Representatives of the US Congress visited Tallinn on March 23-24 to attend NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) meetings.

The Congressional delegation was made up of Representative Brett Guthrie, Representative Michael Turner, and the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Joe Wilson. The gathering took place just before the 75th anniversary of the alliance and the NATO Washington summit, which will take place July 9-11, the US embassy said in a press release. 

In Tallinn, the US delegates met with representatives from other NATO ally countries to discuss Sweden's recent accession to NATO, security challenges brought on by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and future moves to strengthen the alliance and ensure European security. Delegation members also directly engaged their Estonian counterparts and discussed the US-Estonian relationship and how to further strengthen cooperation between the two nations. 

Guthrie and the delegation members congratulated their Estonian counterparts, as well as those from Lithuania and Latvia, on the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Baltic countries joining NATO, which will be marked on March 29. NATO will celebrate its 75th anniversary on April 4, 2024, which will be marked more formally by the heads of state of the alliance countries in Washington, DC, at the summit in July. 

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly was founded in 1955 as a forum for members of parliaments from every NATO country to meet, discuss issues facing the Alliance, and express their opinions on Euro-Atlantic security. The assembly provides oversight and guidance to the alliance and increases understanding of NATO's mission among citizens and legislators in alliance nations.