Renew Europe strongly condemns the brutal decision to suspend the United States’ development and humanitarian aid imposed by the Trump administration.
This move could unravel two decades of development progress and creates a dangerous power vacuum in the Global South, threatening the survival of numerous NGOs and their vital projects worldwide.
USAID is a major contributor in the field of development, humanitarian aid and health assistance. It supports independent media outlets in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as well as vaccination programmes to combat diseases such as birdflu or Ebola, which will be forced suspend their operations.
This decision is a gift to Russia and China, and while the EU has long stood as the world's largest development aid donor it cannot shoulder this burden alone.
The Group calls on the European Commission to urgently develop strategies to protect vulnerable communities from the immediate effects of the aid cuts, prevent hostile actors from exploiting the vacuum left by the US withdrawal and support NGOs facing cash flow challenges.
“This catastrophic decision is going to affect women and children in Afghanistan, wounded soldiers in Ukraine, war-affected and starving people in Darfur… this list goes on. The EU must act swiftly with its partners to mitigate the impact of the US decision on affected communities on the ground,” said Barry Andrews MEP (Fianna Fáil, IE), Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Development.
Photo: European Parliament / 2025