- Europe
- News Desk
- Source: European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20261020IPR48312/hybrid-threats-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina-euds-mission-to-sarajevo
Members of the European Parliament's Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield will visit Sarajevo from 26 to 28 October 2026 to assess how hybrid threats and foreign interference are affecting Bosnia and Herzegovina's democratic institutions and its bid to join the European Union, the European Parliament said in a statement. The three-day fact-finding mission will be chaired by French MEP Nathalie Loiseau of the Renew group.
Key facts
- The European Parliament delegation will be in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 26 to 28 October 2026.
- The mission is organised by the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield.
- MEPs will examine disinformation, economic leverage, cyberattacks and other forms of foreign interference.
- The delegation will be chaired by Nathalie Loiseau, a Renew group MEP from France.
- MEPs will meet Bosnian authorities, parliamentary committees, civil society organisations, media representatives and researchers.
What will the MEPs be looking for?
According to the Parliament's announcement, the delegation intends to map the scale and impact of hybrid threats on the country's democratic institutions and on its EU accession process. Lawmakers will look at disinformation, economic pressure, cyberattacks and other interference vectors, and will try to identify where the country's resilience falls short.
The visit is also meant to produce policy recommendations aimed at strengthening the European Democracy Shield's ability to prevent and respond to such threats in the Western Balkans, the statement said.
Election safeguards and platform roles under scrutiny
Beyond disinformation and cyber operations, MEPs plan to examine foreign information manipulation and interference, known by the acronym FIMI. They will look at the safeguards protecting election integrity and at the role played by digital platforms and institutional actors.
The delegation also intends to check for loopholes in legislation that could be exploited for malicious interference. No specific laws or incidents were named in the Parliament's statement.
Who the delegation will meet
The programme includes high-level talks with representatives of the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and discussions with parliamentary committees on hybrid threats and foreign interference. MEPs will also meet state bodies responsible for democratic integrity and resilience, along with a range of civil society organisations, media representatives and researchers.
Journalists wishing to reach the delegation directly during the visit were asked to contact the media team of the EU delegation in Sarajevo, the Parliament said.
The mission comes after the Parliament set out proposals on 15 September 2026 to bolster democracy against foreign interference, according to the statement. The European Democracy Shield is the EU framework intended to counter foreign manipulation and interference across the bloc, and the Sarajevo visit is one of the committee's fact-finding trips ahead of further work on that file.
Source: European Parliament
— The European Commission has received a report from a High-Level Group chaired by Catherine Day on reforming its civil service, with Commissioner Serafin saying 
— The European Parliament has awarded its 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court and its officials, with President Roberta