Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) took centre stage during the Bundestag’s General Debate on Wednesday, voicing strong opposition to the government’s draft 2026 federal budget.
Germany's humanitarian aid spending was already cut to around €1 billion in the federal budget for 2025 – a drop of over 50 percent from more than €2.2 billion in 2024.
Plans for the federal budget for 2026 would see these cuts maintained, meaning that the share of humanitarian aid in the federal budget will fall to just 0.2 percent, the lowest figure in a decade.
Wadephul described the cuts as “regrettable” and “a deplorable state of affairs.”
He argued that it was a mistake to economise on humanitarian aid, especially at a time of major crises in places such as Sudan and Gaza.
“A federal budget that creates €180 billion in new debt must also take into account that we face major challenges in the humanitarian field,” he told parliament. “It’s about preventing the causes of flight and also protecting economic interests.”
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The implication is that failing to provide aid now could lead to greater displacement and potentially more expensive crises in the future.
Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner made the point more explicitly when she said: “The fact that cuts are now being made in development aid of all things is a damning indictment. This promotes poverty, flight and war and creates a vicious circle.
The decision in Germany to make such drastic cuts to spending on humanitarian aid echoes a similar decision taken in American to dismantle USAID.
A chorus of criticism
Wadepuhl had already criticised the cuts made to spending on humanitarian aid in the federal budget for 2025.
Talking about regions including Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan, he said in July that Germany is “challenged from a humanitarian perspective to become more involved...than we have been so far.”
“Germany is called upon to combat the roots of this refugee movement,” he added. “That is why it is in our own best interest to get involved there.”
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Adis Ahmetovic of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), agreed: “We cannot be satisfied with a 50 percent cut in peacekeeping and humanitarian aid. If Germany wants to be able to act and be credible in the world’s crisis regions, it must send a clear signal in 2025, or 2026 at the latest.".
Jamila Schäfer (Greens) accused the federal government of “remaining stuck in the past in terms of foreign policy.”
“Humanitarian aid and diplomacy are not a luxury; they are a central pillar of our security,” she said.
Sascha Wagner (Left Party) also attacked the move. “While the defence budget is set to grow by €10.5 billion, the federal government wants to save more than €1 billion in humanitarian aid,” he said.
The development NGO umbrella organisation Venro (Association for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid) issued a scathing assessment of the government’s plans.
In their analysis of the draft budget for 2026, published earlier this year, Venro warned that the cuts will have concrete impacts on vulnerable populations around the globe, break Germany’s international commitments, and risk fuelling tensions between rich and poor countries.
“The federal government is radically cutting funding for international cooperation without any discernible strategy,” they wrote. “In particular, the reduction in humanitarian aid from more than €2 billion in 2024 to €1 billion in 2025 and 2026 means that Germany will only be able to reach half as many people with its aid.”
Worldwide, 700 million people live in extreme poverty. Over 300 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid and over 100 million people are refugees. Half of them are children.
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