Foreign Minister Baerbock emphasizes that humanitarian aid should be a priority of German foreign policy. A pragmatic approach is required.
Despite massive cuts in funds for humanitarian aid and crisis prevention in the 2024 draft budget, this should remain a priority of German foreign policy.
This was announced by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) today during the budget deliberations in the Bundestag. “Around the world, almost 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. That’s why it was important to me that we continue to have a powerful budget for humanitarian aid – with a pragmatic approach that allows us to act quickly.”
Prevention of further crises
The draft budget envisages reducing the funds for this by a third in the coming year – from 3.33 billion euros to 2.2 billion euros. The entire budget of the Federal Foreign Office is to fall from 7.48 billion euros in the current year to 6.16 billion in the coming year.
Baerbock spoke in the Bundestag of “huge cuts” in the funds for humanitarian aid. “But we have agreed in the coalition that we will use our leeway to be able to react ad hoc to new crises with humanitarian aid.”
It’s about “the most vulnerable people in the world,” said SPD foreign policy expert Frank Schwabe. In the end, humanitarian aid is “prevention of further crises, prevention of wars and also prevention of irregular migration”. The cut is bitter. “And at the same time I want to make it clear that Germany has developed into a real world power in the field of humanitarian aid in recent years.” It is the second largest donor nation after the United States. “We stay that too.”
Source: Stern
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