BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) 鈥� . lashed out at the on Tuesday, saying its liberal policies were discouraging investment and predicted a 鈥渕ajor fracture鈥� between the bloc’s eastern and western member states.
The said that 鈥渢he biggest players, the biggest names in banking and finance, in tech and AI across the board鈥� believe that 鈥淓urope is a disaster,鈥� but 鈥渢he disaster that they feel also needs to be fixed.鈥�
鈥淭he only way it gets fixed, though, in my opinion is if they (Europe) get out of of their own way,鈥� Trump Jr. said during a business discussion in the northwestern Bosnian city of Banja Luka, according to video recordings provided by the official television RTRS television.
Banja Luka is a key city in Republika Srpska, the Serb-run part of Bosnia, whose leaders are staunch admirers of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The press office of the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia鈥檚 capital, told The Associated Press in an email that Trump Jr. came 鈥渋n a private capacity.鈥� The visit was nonetheless seen here as a boost for the Serb separatist political leadership.
Trump Jr.鈥檚 trip came as U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary to support the reelection bid of nationalist Prime Minister before a highly-contested vote next weekend.
Bosnian Serb politician and former Republika Srpska president, Milorad Dodik, an ally of Orb谩n, said on X that the two visits 鈥渟ignal an important shift of the U.S. administration under the leadership of President Trump and the care for this part of Europe regarding the position of Christians.鈥�
Trump Jr,, in Banja Luka, said that eastern European countries 鈥渉ave a work ethic that has (withstood) some of the 鈥榳oke鈥� nonsense that has really been a parasitic thing in the mind in Western Europe.鈥�
鈥淚 see that creating major fractures in the European Union between those few countries in eastern Europe that actually still believe in common sense, and Western Europe that鈥檚 clearly missing in the political discourse these days,鈥� he said.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the Serb-run half of Bosnia to break off from the rest of the country that is run by Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, and Croats. The Serb bid to form its own state and unite with neighboring Serbia was seen as the main cause of the 1992-95 ethnic war that killed more than 100,000 before ending in a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.
The Biden administration in 2022 imposed sanctions on Dodik and individuals and companies linked to him because of the separatist policies that stoked fear of renewed instability. The sanctions were lifted by the Trump administration last year.
The Trump administration has long been critical of the EU, notably over trade and EU regulation of the technology sector. Its criticism of long-time European allies has intensified during the Iran war.
Bosnia is a candidate country for EU membership and the 27-nation bloc says it’s Bosnia鈥檚 biggest trading partner, investor and provider of financial aid.
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