French minister: EU alone can't plug USAID shutdown gap

The EU plays a "crucial role" in providing global development assistance amid the sudden temporary suspension of USAID, but it does not have the funds to do it alone, French Development Minister Tani Mohamed Soilihi told Euractiv, UNN reports.

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Trump's sudden and radical closure of USAID, the historic U.S. government development assistance agency, for at least 90 days has left Europe scrambling to find an adequate response.

In two short weeks, the world of international development woke up to the fact that about 55.8 billion euros of US foreign aid budgeted for 2025 could literally disappear.

Meanwhile, most USAID employees were either fired or placed on paid leave, leaving only critical personnel.

"One of Europe's immediate neighbors, Ukraine, will bear the brunt, as will the Balkans and Eastern Europe, which are direct recipients of US aid," the publication points out.

Now, as the newspaper notes, the EU wants to step in and fill the gap, but it doesn't have the money.

"Europe alone cannot compensate for [USAID's] withdrawal," said French Minister for Francophonie and International Partnerships Tania Mohamed Soilihi.

"We must mobilize all sources of financing, whether public, private, domestic or international," to ‘build win-win partnerships,’ said Soilihi, who called for "ambitious reform of the international financial architecture.

According to the minister, the very purpose and objectives of development programs should be reconsidered so that Europe can "be present where our interests are at stake" and scale back in regions that are of less strategic value.

It remains to be seen how things will turn out, given the pan-European budget constraints and the disappearance of USAID, the publication notes.

50 countries affected by suspension of USAID funding - WHO13.02.25, 10:42 • 110522 views