'Europe is a bit of a mess', Donald Trump Jr. tells panel in Bosnia

• Summary

• Trump’s eldest son visits Bosnia’s Serb region

• Visit coincides with JD Vance’s criticism of EU in Hungary

• Ousted separatist leader Dodik praises shift in U.S. policy

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 7 (Reuters) - President Donald ​Trump’s eldest son visited Bosnia’s Serb Republic on Tuesday, a trip widely seen as ‌a gesture of support for its ousted pro-Russian leader Milorad Dodik, during which he criticised the European Union as “a little bit of a mess”.

Donald Trump Jr. travelled to the Serb Republic’s de facto capital, Banja Luka, as ​the guest of Dodik’s son Igor. The visit coincided with remarks by U.S. Vice ​President JD Vance in Budapest, where he accused the European Union of meddling in ⁠an election in Hungary.

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“The European Union has been a little bit of a mess,” Trump Jr. ​said during a closed panel discussion with region’s political leaders and business figures. He added that ​he had heard from business people around the world who described Europe as “a disaster”.

“But it’s a disaster they feel also needs to be fixed because of the impact that it does have on the values and Western ​civilization,” said Trump Jr., who is executive vice president of the Trump Organization, which he runs ​alongside his younger brother Eric.

The Serb Republic is one of two autonomous regions that make up Bosnia, alongside the ‌Bosniak-Croat ⁠Federation, under the 1995 Dayton peace accords brokered by the U.S. to end the 1992–95 war that killed about 100,000 people and displaced some 2 million.

The panel event was open only to government-aligned media outlets but video was broadcast on regional television.

Dodik, the region’s former separatist president, was stripped ​of his mandate last ​August over a court ⁠verdict banning him from politics and had been under U.S. sanctions for flouting the Dayton peace treaty. He has become a strong supporter of ​policies of Donald Trump after he took power last year.

“The arrival of ​Vance in Hungary ⁠and Donald Trump Jr. in Banja Luka is a signal of an important shift in the U.S. administration under President Trump, showing concern for this part of Europe,” Dodik posted on X.

In October, the ⁠U.S. ​Treasury Department lifted sanctions, opens new tab imposed on Dodik and his allies and ​family members without publicly explaining the decision. Serb officials have since said they have been working quietly to improve relations ​with Washington, while maintaining close ties with traditional ally Russia.

Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Ros Russell

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