The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has seized headlines, yet significant reductions in European aid budgets are also depleting support for the world’s poorest communities, claims a coalition of MEPs and NGOs.
Isabella Lövin, a deputy chair of the European parliament’s development committee, has warned that USAID cuts would result in “very dramatic consequences worldwide.” Her criticism extends to the cuts in aid budgets by EU member states, labelled as “very regrettable” and “wrong.” The EU, she asserted, lacks the ability to cover the shortfall.
Lövin, a former Swedish minister for international development, emphasized that the EU and its member states must invest in democracy, poverty eradication, and the support of developing countries to dissuade conflict, involuntary migration, and societal instability.
Germany, Europe’s leading donor, reportedly trims its aid budget despite pledging 0.79% of its national income to overseas development in 2023. Moreover, nations like France, Italy, and Spain reduced their development aid in 2024 compared to the previous year’s figures. The UK risks plunging its aid budget to record lows, with predictions of it spending only 0.23% of its national income on aid by 2027.
Charlotte Slente, of the Danish Refugee Council, criticized the British government’s decision to decrease aid in favor of defense spending. Echoing concerns about shrinking budgets meeting growing humanitarian needs, she predicted an increase of 6.7 million displaced individuals by 2026.
The immediate freeze on all US foreign assistance, initiated by Donald Trump upon taking office, led to the Danish Refugee Council laying off over a thousand staff, potentially leaving 2 million people unsupported. USAID was a significant contributor, funding one-fifth of the DRC’s programs.
Lövin questioned the EU’s development cooperation, arguing it should return to its roots in poverty eradication and empowering individuals, rather than focusing on access to raw materials, energy, and migration control. “The US is creating a perfect storm with severe aid budget cuts and imposing ridiculous tariffs on impoverished nations,” she declared.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/apr/15/eu-struggle-fill-gap-usaid-european-countries-cut-budgets
