Germany’s deduction will be a serious blow to help organizations in its development expenses.
“We are deeply concerned. And it will be felt by people in the global south,” said Oliver Muller, head of Caritas International, who is involved in emergency and disaster relief worldwide.
Müller is on the draft of the 2026 federal budget of Germany, which was approved by the federal government on Wednesday.
For the draft, the Ministry’s budget for economic cooperation and development will fall below the mark of € 10 billion ($ 11.4 billion) for the first time since 2018. The budget had already shrunk from 2024 to 2025 from about € 1 billion.
Muller seems equally dangerous that the foreign office budget for humanitarian emergency assistance is scheduled to cut more than 2026.
Mueller said Caritas has been ABL to fund several large projects due to government funds, “but wants to eliminate thesis projects without replacement.”
Muller insisted that there will be no cut in the board in Caritas International.
“There are simply humanitarian crisis that we think so serious and terrible that we will continue to use our search, find donations and church to provide help,” Heer said.
As an example, Muller pointed to assisting for internal displaced people in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, “One of the biggest human disasters of our time.” The Ministry of External Affairs will no longer pay much fine for the Congo.
“In the worst case, no one provides more help,” said.
Currently, there is a tendency to cut back on assistance for the world’s poorest, Muller said, along with the cuts made by the United States, also pointing to the United Kingdom, Belgium and other European Union countries.
Germany’s reliability on the line
Other organizations have widely criticized the planned cuts of the German federal government. Venro, Ambrela Organization for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Ed Organization, warned Germany not to “reduce its responsibility.”
Looking at the expected cuts, Venro said that it would no longer be possible to engage in strategic international cooperation. This accused the government of ignoring the importance of the work done by the network of professional organizations of civil society and on the ground in providing emergency assistance. According to a statement by Venro, the cuts are “absolutely inconsistent”.
A day before the announcement of the budget, 17 aid organizations jointly accused the government of “not only life-saving measures, but also of Germany’s strategic interests and international credibility.” Those who signed the statement were Roti, Welthungerhilf, One and Oxfam for the world. A similar call was already made by 30 organizations in June.
All the Ministries chaired the Rem Alabali Redovan, who have been in the office since May, losing the ability to create a difference. The declining importance of development policy is clear while looking at the overall budget. The draft budget for 2026 provides for the expenditure of € 520.5 billion, one -third of which is currently funded by new loans.
Finance Minister Lars Clingbile stated that its purpose was to ensure Germany’s future viability, emphasizing the increasing importance of military readiness to combat Russia’s aggressive war. Without the Russian President Vladimir Putin, this budget will look very different, the SPD politician said, who are the Vice Chancellor in the coalition government, which are made from the Klingbill Casual Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU).
Out of the total budget employed, € 9.94 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Development Aid – more than 1.9% of the national budget. While it is not a terrible shock, it is a significant twist. The largest percentage of the budget allocated for development assistance was 2.87%during the administration of Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2019.
Remembering International ODA target
Official Development Assistance (ODA) ratio refers to the GDP share spent on development cooperation. In 2024, what is the ODA ratio of Germany 0.67%. State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Stephen Mayor is now predicting 0.52% for 2026 and 0.43% for 2029. This means that Germany will fail to meet the international target of 0.7%.
Müller, head of Caritas, stressed that despite the low money for the independent ministry for development cooperation remains important.
“If the ministry was not there, things would have been worse,” he said. It is about changing awareness that the development policy and humanitarian emergency assistance should be worked in global security and climate protection to identify that engagement.
“Finally, therefore helps us in Germany.”
This article was original in German.
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