Today, the Federal Cabinet approved the draft budget for 2025. Bernd Bornhorst, Misereor's Managing Director for International Cooperation, comments on the cuts to development cooperation.

"Cutting the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development by almost one billion euros sends the wrong signal. We need more international cooperation, not less! We can only get to grips with the enormous challenges facing the world by working together or not at all. Poverty, disease, growing inequality and hunger affect the weakest, but the consequences of global crises ultimately affect us all. Democracy and civil society are in crisis in more and more countries - a dangerous development. Withdrawing into a national or European wagon fortress is therefore politically short-sighted and will cost us dearly in the long term.

Development cooperation is an important instrument for helping to shape international agendas. If funds are lacking in fragile contexts, it is no longer possible to take preventative action. If countries like Germany cut back on development cooperation, this could lead to anti-democratic forces gaining further influence in poorer countries. Germany is morally, but also legally, bound by its international obligations and will lose credibility and influence in the world if the draft presented today becomes reality."