The Catholic aid organisation Misereor has noted with astonishment and great concern that the integration of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) into the Federal Foreign Office is under discussion in the current negotiations on a black-red coalition in Berlin. Significant cuts to the budget for development cooperation are also apparently under discussion. In a letter to the politicians involved, the Misereor board has now warned of the immense global consequences of such far-reaching changes.
"We can only expressly advise against both steps," emphasises Misereor Managing Director Andreas Frick. "Radically cancelling the German government's public development aid would mean turning our backs on the world." Misereor's project work in Asia, Africa and Latin America would also be severely affected by this, as the more than 3,200 ongoing projects of almost 1,900 partner organisations are also financed with funds from the BMZ. Many of these projects are implemented in places where state cooperation programmes or embassies cannot reach or where they have had to withdraw. "Reliable cooperation with Germany offers protection to many of our local partners from civil society in countries where autocratic regimes are increasingly in power. This is only possible with this type of partnership. We are deeply convinced of this work and its impact. If you want to dismantle large parts of this work for obvious domestic political reasons, these partnerships and networks will be lost in the foreseeable future and Germany will lose importance in the world," warns Frick.
A success in German post-war history
The Misereor boss comments on the possible integration of the BMZ into the Foreign Ministry: "This would jeopardise a significant international success in Germany's post-war history. Especially now that the USA is disappearing as a reliable partner, the institutions' resources for Germany's international tasks should be strengthened. A continent like Europe, which is home to only six per cent of the world's population, urgently needs international partnerships. The independence of the ministry is important as a representative of the different strands of international cooperation."
