EU announces new approach to development aid

by dpa | 13.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief

More EU news is available on the wire services of the respective news agency.

US President Trump’s decision to halt overseas aid payments cannot be automatically compensated by the EU, the bloc’s top diplomat says.

Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, gives a statement during the meeting of EU foreign ministers at the German Foreign Office Villa Borsig.
Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa)
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Brussels (dpa) – The European Union intends to compensate for the loss of US development aid payments only under certain conditions and in selected cases, the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said in an interview with the news agency network enr published on Thursday.

“We agreed that we are not automatically filling the void with European money because first, we don’t have those funds,” the EU foreign affairs representative told enr.

Moreover, European aid is also to be used in future to expand geopolitical power. Payments could be linked to the recipients openly and clearly communicating that they are supported by the EU, Kallas said.

Kallas complained that the EU currently supports many organizations with substantial funds but is scarcely visible. She said the current situation is an opportunity to make the European flag more visible and to show people where the support truly comes from.

Kallas cited the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as examples.

“We are the largest supporters, and nobody knows,” said the former Estonian prime minister in a conversation with enr, which also includes dpa.

“We get a lot of criticism that we are not supporting Palestine enough, although we are the ones who are supporting Palestine: It’s not the Arab countries, it’s us in terms of the funding.”

Kaja Kallas

Kallas stressed that if financial aid is to be provided in the future, it must be more visible. Both the affected countries and EU citizens need to know that the European Union is the international partner that is reliable and predictable.

One of US President Donald Trump‘s recent announcements was that the United States would withdraw from financing UNRWA. Furthermore, his administration has ordered a temporary halt to almost all overseas development aid payments. These are currently under review and shall only be resumed if they are “efficient” and align with Trump’s “America First” strategy.

According to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2023, the US was the world’s largest single provider of public development aid, amounting to nearly 65 billion dollar.

However, collectively, the EU and its member states reached nearly 96 billion Euro (100 billion dollar) in the same period. Germany contributed around 34 billion Euro, according to EU data. (February 12)

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