Shaheen Chairs U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Hearing Examining Future of Europe
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, chaired a subcommittee hearing to discuss the future of Europe – including Ukraine’s ability to counter Russian aggression and Shaheen’s bipartisan bill to hold Georgian officials accountable for democratic backsliding following recent passage of the foreign agents law – with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien. The subcommittee examined a broad range of developments in the region, with Senator Shaheen focusing her questioning about the security situation in the Western Balkans, the political dynamics in Belarus and outcomes from the NATO Summit. You can watch Shaheen’s opening remarks here.
“Over the past four years, Europe has experienced significant political, security and economic shifts. Putin thought his efforts to drive divisions within Europe and build its reliance on Russian oil and gas would thwart a united, coordinated response to its illegal invasion in Ukraine. Instead, it upended European policy toward Russia and its attitudes toward the rest of the world. And today, the transatlantic alliance is stronger than ever,” said Shaheen. “This hearing was an opportunity to understand how we can further consolidate our unity to address future challenges and ensure that Americans and Europeans continue to see the benefit of our unity by strengthening both our trade ties and our democracies.”
As Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that oversees U.S. policy towards Europe, Shaheen is a leading policymaker on efforts in defense of democracies around the globe amid Putin’s efforts to destabilize the continent. During the hearing, Shaheen discussed the bipartisan bill she introduced earlier this year that would hold Georgian government officials and individuals responsible for corruption, human rights abuses and efforts to advance the foreign agents law or facilitate its passage. The Committee-passed National Defense Authorization Act for FY2025 includes a provision of her bill that would require the Secretary of Defense to review U.S. security cooperation with Georgia in light of its foreign agents law, as well as provide additional flexibility to provide security assistance to Ukraine.
Last year, Shaheen reintroduced her bipartisan legislation to direct the administration to develop a strategy toward the Black Sea region, which has increasingly become a critical inflection point for European and global security amid Putin’s war in Ukraine. Shaheen chaired a hearing at the end of last year to discuss implementation of the Biden administration’s Black Sea Strategy, which came as a direct result of Shaheen’s advocacy.
During the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, Shaheen and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, co-chairs of the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group, hosted a bipartisan meeting with Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama, North Macedonia Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Montenegro Foreign Minister Filip Ivanovic to discuss each country’s important contributions to the NATO Alliance, continued support for Ukraine and the Balkan countries’ respective roles in advancing regional stability. The discussion also explored how the United States can continue to support the countries’ respective campaigns for EU membership, which Shaheen highlighted during today’s hearing.
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