On Tuesday 21 January, Europe reacted in large numbers to the signing by newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump of an executive order suspending US development aid. This aid, estimated at nearly $68 billion, has been frozen for 90 days in order to “assess the effectiveness of the programmes and their consistency with US foreign policy”.
At the European Parliament, where the EU’s transatlantic relations dominate discussions, several MEPs have expressed their concern to Agence Europe.
“The international community is unanimous in its view that an additional €5,000 billion is needed to achieve the development goals. If the amount of US official aid were to fall, this would inevitably increase the pressure on the EU, which would become the only major player in development cooperation”, said Charles Goerens MEP (Renew Europe, Luxembourger), stressing the urgent need to address this issue in the Committee on Development (DEVE).
The extent and the real implications of the decision remain uncertain, especially as President Trump has specified that certain aid programmes could be reactivated on a case-by-case basis in the coming days. However, the announcement has raised concerns about its immediate impact on crisis-hit regions.
“It is unthinkable that international aid to the people of Gaza should be reduced or interrupted”, said Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA). In addition, the French Green MEP denounced “a logic of withdrawal and mistrust of international aid”, which is “eating away” at the European Parliament, fuelled by the influence of right-wing and far-right groups in the Chamber.
“Faced with this decree, the European Commission’s best response would be to take the opposite approach by increasing the budget dedicated to its development aid”, he added.
On Tuesday, the European Commission said it had “taken note” of the US decision and had reaffirmed its determination to “accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals”, according to a spokesperson.
On Friday 17 January, the Chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, Carsten Staur, called on the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, to maintain the EU’s financial commitments to development cooperation at a time of “great global instability”.
“With Official Development Assistance being an increasingly scarce resource, policy coherence is a prerequisite to maintain trust”, argued Mr Staur in a public letter. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)