German development aid: New spending cuts ahead – DW – 07/31/2025
This will be a serious blow to aid organizations. "We are deeply concerned. And it will be felt by people in the Global South," says Oliver Müller, head of Caritas International, which is involved in emergency and disaster relief worldwide.
Müller is appalled at the draft of the German federal budget for 2026, which the federal government approved on Wednesday, and which was subsequently presented by Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. According to the draft, the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will fall below the €10 billion ($11.4 bn) mark for the first time since 2018. The budget had already shrunk by almost €1 billion from 2024 to 2025.
What is equally alarming for Oliver Müller is that the Foreign Office's budget for humanitarian emergency aid is set to be cut by more than half by 2026. There are several large projects that Caritas has been able to fund thanks to government money, "but these projects will be eliminated without replacement."
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Müller emphasizes that Caritas International will not be making across-the-board cuts. "There simply are humanitarian crises that we think are so serious and terrible that we will continue to use our own funds, donations, and church funds to provide assistance."
As an example, Müller points to aid for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, "one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time." There is now no more funding from the Foreign Ministry for this. "In the worst case, no one will provide any more help." Currently, there is a trend to cut back on aid for the world's poorest, says Müller, pointing to cuts made by the US, as well as the UK, Belgium, and other EU countries.
Other organizations widely criticized the German federal government's planned cuts. VENRO, the umbrella organization for development cooperation and humanitarian aid organizations, warned Germany not to "shirk its responsibility." Given the expected cuts, it said that it would no longer be possible to engage in strategic international cooperation. It accused the German federal government of overlooking the importance of the work done by the networks of professional organizations from civil society and those on the ground in providing emergency aid. The cuts are "absolutely incomprehensible," according to a VENRO statement.
The day before the budget announcement, 17 aid organizations jointly accused the government of jeopardizing "not only life-saving measures, but also Germany's strategic interests and international credibility." Among those who signed the statement were Bread for the World, Welthungerhilfe, One, and Oxfam. A similar call had already been made in June by 30 organizations.
All of this means that the ministry headed by Reem Alabali Radovan, who has been in office since May, is losing its ability to make a difference. The declining importance of development policy is also evident when looking at the overall budget. The draft budget for 2026 provides for expenditures of €520.5 billion, around a third of which is currently still financed by new loans.
The finance minister explained that the aim was to ensure Germany's future viability, stressing the growing importance of military readiness to counter Russia's aggressive warfare. Without Russian President Vladimir Putin, this budget would look very different, said the SPD politician, who is also vice chancellor in the coalition government made up of Klingbeil'sSocial Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU).
Of the planned total budget, €9.94 billion has been allocated to the the development aid ministry. That is just over 1.9% of the national budget. While this is not a catastrophic setback, it is a significant turning point. The largest percentage of the budget allocated to development aid was during Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration in 2019, at 2.87 percent.
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The Official Development Assistance (ODA) ratio refers to the share of gross national income spent on development cooperation. In 2024, Germany's ODA ratio was 0.67%. State Secretary for Finance Steffen Meyer is now predicting 0.52% for 2026 and 0.43% for 2029. This means Germany will fail to meet the international target of 0.7%.
Oliver Müller, head of Caritas International, emphasized that despite reduced funding, an independent ministry for development cooperation remains important. "If the ministry were not there, things would be even worse.' It is about shifting awareness to recognize that engagement in development policy and humanitarian emergency aid also serves global security and climate protection. "Ultimately, that also helps us in Germany.While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.
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Middle East: Israel risks isolation, German FM says – DW – 07/31/2025
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13 hours ago
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What's behind UK foreign policy change on Palestinian state? – DW – 07/31/2025
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His government is using the recognition of a Palestinian state as a means of political pressure to push forward the so-called two-state solution. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Until now, the UK has delayed its recognition of a Palestinian state in part because of the country's own historical responsibility. Between 1920 and 1948, Britain was the administrative power in Palestine, which had previously been part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1917, the British government issued a statement — the Balfour Declaration, named after then-British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour — that said it supported the idea of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. The declaration was made without considering the rights of the Arab majority population there and the move went on to spark violence between local Arabs, immigrant Jews and the British administration. 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In the British Parliament, 221 members have signed a letter calling for recognition of Palestine. Among the signatories were many Labour Party members. Ministers in Starmer's cabinet have also pushed in this direction. Starmer appears to have given in to the pressure, at least partially. But he reiterated the UK's support for Israel and demands on Hamas in the government statement on Tuesday. "We have been unequivocal in our condemnation of those evil attacks, and our support for the right of the State of Israel to self-defence. Hamas must immediately release all the hostages, sign up to an immediate ceasefire [...] and commit to disarmament." At the same time though, he was critical of the Israeli government's military offensive and its policies in Gaza. "Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end," he told journalists. 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Israel's Netanyahu has described Starmer's plan as "appeasement towards jihadist terrorists." Currently, 147 out of 193 UN member states recognize Palestine as a state. However, what counts as a state is still disputed with different methods and prerequisites used to identify countries. Even so, several of the conditions usually accepted as necessary for a functioning state are presently not in place for Palestine. That includes a unified government, control over borders and security and clearly defined territory. In the statement announcing his government's change of course, Starmer emphasized that the Hamas group must "accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza" in the view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
DW
14 hours ago
- DW
Will Australia's youth social media ban work? – DW – 07/31/2025
Australia will impose a social media blackout for children under 16 to tackle the growing mental health crisis among young people. But will the ban be effective? When Australia's government decided to implement a world-first national youth social media ban, it was pitched as an antidote to a growing mental health crisis. It followed intense debate about the dangers of social media, much articulated in the book, "The Anxious Generation," by Jonathan Haidt. The American social psychologist argues that smartphone-based childhoods and social media are helping to fuel an epidemic of mental illness among teenagers. As the ban was passed in the Australian Parliament in November 2024, one poll revealed overwhelming support among 77% of Australians. The plan to fine TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Instagram and now YouTube, 49.5 million Australian dollars (€27.7 million, $32.3 million) for failing to block young people was supported by 87% of those surveyed. Underage social media users and their parents will not be punished for any violations under the law. Social media companies, including Elon Musk's X, were predictably unimpressed with a ban that many concede will also be difficult to police. "It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools, or protections exist," said a TikTok spokesperson when the bill was passed. The Australian social media ban partly seeks to protect young people from the cyberbullying, disinformation and illegal content that has riddled social media platforms. But some experts doubt whether prohibition is an antidote to deteriorating youth mental health. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Marilyn Campbell, a professor in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology who writes on cyberbullying, warns that little research establishes a "causal" connection between social media and psychological health. "We know that there's a high correlation between the rise of new technologies and the increase in young people's poorer mental health," she said. "But we don't even know why yet." One 2023 study sampling social media use in 72 countries found "no evidence suggesting that the global penetration of social media is associated with widespread psychological harm." Campbell noted that though populist psychology works like "The Anxious Generation" merely draw a correlation between rising youth anxiety and depression and social media use, they have been heavily hyped in the media. Building on the popularity of these ideas, the government is now pursuing a "nice, simple solution," she told DW. "You don't have to spend any money on it," she said of the ban. "It's not complicated." Researchers at the University of Queensland note that the limited understanding of how social media impacts young people's mental health means that other influences need to be considered, such as rising "social inequity," "climate anxiety" and "gendered violence." Campbell suggested that instead of focusing on social media, governments need to "reform the mental health system," adding that "many more school counselors and school psychologists" would help. "There are lots of things that they could do but that cost money," she added. The Australian government continues to conflate social media use and the psychological struggles of young people. "We know that social media is doing social harm, and my government and this parliament is prepared to take action to protect young Australians," said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday when announcing that YouTube would be added to the list of banned platforms after initially being excluded. But social media can also be positive for young people, said Campbell. Writing for magazine in January, she noted that young people with autism or who are "exploring their sexual and gender identity" can sometimes more easily identify with peers online than in their physical locality. She added that, like the prohibition of alcohol in the US, a ban just forces the problem underground. Youth also need to be prepared to live in a "technologically-saturated world," the professor told DW. "We are not doing them any favors by saying, well, you can't be in this world until you're 16." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Australian ban will not come into effect until this December. Trials are underway to address the complex task of enforcing the social media blackout. Platforms won't be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued ID or digital identification but must provide "alternative age assurance methods" to confirm the age of social media account holders. One recent study showed that some 80% of people surveyed are concerned about the accuracy of age assurance technologies and potential data privacy breaches. Some 77% of German respondents to a 2024 poll also said they would either "fully" or "somewhat" support an Australia-like social media ban. An even higher percentage, 82%, were "absolutely certain" or "somewhat certain" that social media use is in some way bad for children and teenagers. Several US states are also limiting access to social media, including ensuring greater parental guidance over social media usage. For decades, the US has required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of users under 13. Sweden too is looking to ban access to smartphones in schools due to worries about a decline in both mental and physical health. In 2024, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy suggested that warning labels be added to social media platforms, similar to those on cigarettes and alcohol. This came after a Surgeon General report found some positives with social media use such as "community and connection with others who share identities, abilities and interests," but also "symptoms of depression and anxiety" among adolescents spending 3-plus hours a day on social platforms. Marilyn Campbell reiterated that social media apps should not be banned, but designed to encourage safer interaction with young people. "I think that children need to be educated to live in the digital world," she said.
