ICYMI – Shaheen Discusses Strengthening U.S.-Balkan Ties with Atlantic Council

Shaheen is featured on the latest episode of ‘Balkans Debrief’ with Ilva Tare upon her return from the Balkans last week where she served as an election monitor in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, is featured this week on the Atlantic Council’s ‘Balkans Debrief,’ where she discusses her recent visit to the Western Balkans. Shaheen made stops in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which she met with U.K. leaders in London to address shared concerns about Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and his malign influence in the Balkans.

Hosted by nonresident senior fellow Ilva Tare, Shaheen and Tare discuss Shaheen’s participation as an election monitor in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recent elections, the cyberattack launched by Iran in Albania, the future of the EUFOR mandate and the implications of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine for the Western Balkans.

Watch the episode in full here.

Shaheen’s discussion with Tare comes on the heels of her bipartisan letter with Senators Tillis (R-NC), Murphy (D-CT) and Wicker (R-MS) to Secretaries Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, urging the administration to establish a U.S. policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina as the EUFOR mandate renewal deadline approaches at the United Nations Security Council. 

Shaheen, Tillis and Murphy traveled to the region together in April. Senators Shaheen and Wicker lead bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate to strengthen U.S.-Balkan ties by supporting economic development in the region through initiatives on infrastructure, trade and anti-corruption.