EU Seeks to Delay Balkans Pipeline Contract Linked to Trump Lawyer
The European Union faces potential tensions with the United States after attempting to delay the awarding of a significant Balkans pipeline contract to a company associated with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to documents reviewed by .
While Brussels has previously clashed with Trump on issues such as trade, Ukraine, and defense spending, this intervention in a commercial project involving individuals close to the president marks a novel point of contention.
Pipeline Project and US Influence in Bosnia
The pipeline is planned to traverse Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian sources report that, following months of pressure from US officials, local leaders have expedited the contract awarding process to a relatively unknown Wyoming-based company.
AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, incorporated in November of the previous year, has not publicly disclosed its ownership. The company is represented by Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, prominent figures in Trump’s efforts to contest the 2020 election results. Binnall notably defended Trump against accusations of inciting the Capitol riots, while Flynn is the brother of Trump’s former national security adviser.
Despite lacking an evident track record, AAFS plans to invest $1.5 billion in the pipeline and other infrastructure projects within Bosnia, according to its statements.
Legislative Changes and EU Warning
In March, Bosnian lawmakers passed legislation that Transparency International criticized for effectively mandating the contract be awarded to AAFS without a competitive tender process.
Shortly thereafter, the EU’s representative in Sarajevo privately cautioned Bosnian officials that such actions could jeopardize the country’s aspirations to join the EU.
On 13 April, Luigi Soreca, the EU official, sent a letter—obtained by the Bosnian investigative outlet istraga.ba and reviewed by —emphasizing that under an energy agreement between Bosnia and the EU, it is essential that draft laws be thoroughly coordinated with Brussels.
"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," Soreca wrote.
Statements from AAFS and Project Significance
Binnall described the pipeline as a "priority for the Trump administration." Regarding the EU’s intervention, he stated:
"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."
The pipeline aims to connect Bosnia to a liquefied natural gas terminal off the Croatian coast, enabling the delivery of US gas to a country currently reliant on Russian gas for its entire supply.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU set a deadline for member states and candidate countries, including Bosnia, to cease purchasing Russian gas by 2028.
However, Brussels now confronts the prospect of a critical new element in Europe’s energy landscape being controlled not only by a US company but one linked personally to a US president with whom relations have been strained.
AAFS Profile and Trump Circle’s Involvement in Bosnia
AAFS’s website features a prominent eagle symbolizing American power. The company does not list its staff but claims to have "decades of combined experience across energy, infrastructure, finance and international project development." To date, AAFS has not undertaken infrastructure projects on the scale proposed in the Balkans.
Beyond Binnall and Joe Flynn, other individuals connected to Trump have shown interest in Bosnia. Joe Flynn’s brother, Michael Flynn—a former US intelligence official pardoned by Trump in 2020 after a conviction for lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia—has lobbied for the leader of Bosnia’s Serb nationalist faction.
This lobbying effort succeeded in October when US sanctions were lifted on Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader known for undermining the 1995 peace agreement that ended a three-year war resulting in approximately 100,000 deaths.
In April, Donald Trump Jr., who manages the Trump family business, visited Sarajevo. Although neither he nor Michael Flynn appear directly involved in the pipeline project, Dodik has expressed support for it.
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