The EU risks a confrontation with Donald Trump after trying to delay a lucrative Balkans pipeline contract being awarded to a company led by his personal lawyer, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
Brussels has already clashed with Trump over trade, Ukraine, and military spending, but this move to block a business deal involving people close to the president appears to be a first.
The pipeline will run through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian sources say that after months of pressure from US officials, the country’s leaders have been rushing to award the contract to a little-known company based in Wyoming.
AAFS Infrastructure and Energy was set up in November last year and hasn’t revealed its owners. It’s fronted by two key figures from Trump’s campaign to overturn his 2020 election loss: Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who defended him against accusations of inciting the Capitol riots, and Joe Flynn, brother of the president’s former national security adviser.
Despite having no clear track record, AAFS plans to invest $1.5 billion in the pipeline and other Bosnian infrastructure projects, according to its local representative.
In March, lawmakers passed legislation that Transparency International said would set a “dangerous precedent” by requiring the contract to go to AAFS without a bidding process.
Days later, the EU’s representative in Sarajevo privately warned Bosnia’s leaders that they were putting the country’s EU membership hopes at risk.
In a letter sent on April 13, obtained by the Bosnian investigative outlet istraga.ba and seen by the Guardian, EU official Luigi Soreca wrote that under an energy agreement between Bosnia and the EU, it was “crucial that draft laws are thoroughly coordinated” with the EU.
Soreca said Brussels should have a say in the pipeline legislation. “In this way, Bosnia and Herzegovina can continue to progress on its European path and avoid missing out on opportunities for further integration, as well as financial opportunities,” he said.
Binnall has called the pipeline a “priority for the Trump administration.” When asked about the EU’s intervention, he said: “AAFS will never lose sight of what truly matters in this project: delivering energy security and fostering economic development for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are committed to working closely with all relevant authorities to develop the infrastructure needed to make this vision a reality.”
By connecting Bosnia to a liquefied natural gas terminal off the Croatian coast, the pipeline would allow US gas to reach a country that currently relies entirely on Russia for its supply.
After Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Brussels set a deadline for EU members—and aspiring members like Bosnia—to stop buying Russian gas by 2028.
Still, Brussels now faces the prospect of a key piece of Europe’s energy strategy falling under the control of not just a US company, but one with personal ties to a hostile president.
AAFS’s website features a large eagle, evoking US power. It doesn’t name any staff but says they have “decades of combined experience across energy, infrastructure, finance and international project development.” AAFS doesn’t appear to have carried out any infrastructure projects on the scale of the one planned in the Balkans.
Binnall and Flynn aren’t the only ones from Trump’s circle to show interest in Bosnia. Joe Flynn’s brother Michael—a former US intelligence chief whose conviction for lying to the FBI about his dealings with Russia was overturned by a Trump pardon in 2020—has been lobbying for the leader of Bosnia’s Serb nationalist faction.
That lobbying campaign succeeded in October in getting US sanctions lifted from Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader who has been undermining the 1995 peace accord that ended a three-year war in which more than 100,000 people were killed.In April, Donald Trump Jr., who runs the family business, visited Banja Luka, the main city of the autonomous Serb Republic within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although neither he nor Michael Flynn appears to be directly involved in the pipeline project, Dodik has given it his support.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the EU potentially clashing with the US over a Balkan pipeline plan linked to Donald Trump
BeginnerLevel Questions
Q What is this pipeline plan everyone is talking about
A Its a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline through the Balkans The goal is to bring gas from countries like Israel and Cyprus to Europe reducing reliance on Russian gas
Q Why is Donald Trump linked to a pipeline in the Balkans
A The plan is backed by Trumps allies and former associates It was initially promoted during his presidency as a way to counter Russian influence and help Europe Some of the companies involved have ties to Trumps business network
Q Why would the EU risk a conflict with the US over this
A The EU prefers a different pipeline plan that goes through Greece and Italy They argue the Trumplinked Balkan route is more expensive harder to build and could destabilize the region by cutting out certain EU member states
Q Isnt the US and EU supposed to be allies Why are they fighting
A They are allies but they have different business and political interests here The USbacked plan favors specific countries while the EU plan favors Greece and Cyprus Its a competition over money energy security and regional influence
Q Is this pipeline going to be built soon
A Not likely Both plans face huge hurdles high costs environmental concerns and political disagreements The EU and US are currently in a standoff so no construction is imminent
AdvancedLevel Questions
Q What is the exact name of the Trumplinked pipeline plan
A Its often called the Balkan Stream or Serbian Stream More recently its been discussed as a Balkan Gas Hub that would connect to a larger EastMed or IstanbulAnkara route The specific project is the Balkan Gas Hub in Serbia backed by a company with ties to Trumps former energy envoy
Q How does this pipeline conflict with the EUs own energy goals
