Abrupt U.S. foreign aid slashes put pressure on Europe, but some countries also turn inward

U.S. aid void puts pressure on Europe, where some also turn inward The sudden USAID freeze unleashed chaos for aid groups, but European governments cannot replace the sheer scale of U.S. funding and may not even be inclined to. Ellen Francis The Washington Post

BRUSSELS — The sudden freezing of U.S. foreign aid has become a clear forewarning of the United States’ changing approach to global engagement and piles pressure on European governments to contain the fallout, officials and aid groups say.

But European governments cannot replace the sheer scale globally of the U.S. foreign aid, which has been summarily halted. They may not even be inclined to, as they contend with struggling economies, demands to redirect funds to defense and populations pressing them to spend more at home, not abroad.

The Trump administration’s near-total freeze on American foreign assistance has unleashed chaos in the global aid community. The funding freeze, personnel purges and confusion at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have also buffeted European aid groups that work with the agency to provide health and relief services, including in hard-hit parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

“It seems like organized chaos right now, so it’s quite difficult to know what will happen,” said Michael Neuman, director of studies at Doctors Without Borders, known by its French abbreviation MSF. “Everybody is a bit, I think, stunned.” ...

Foreign aid programs represent about 1 percent of the overall U.S. budget. The Trump administration has made USAID a target of the push to shrink the federal government and pledged to bring the U.S. foreign policy apparatus in line with the president’s “America First” agenda.

Some nonprofits have called on E.U. countries to give more money after President Donald Trump’s executive order paused aid for a 90-day review. Yet many say the trend on the continent had already been going in the opposite direction for months.

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