The Director for Germany at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Martin Frick, has voiced strong criticism regarding planned cuts to humanitarian aid within the German federal budget.
Speaking to the “Rheinische Post” Frick stated that Germany appears to be scaling back its global engagement at a time when international support is urgently needed. He warned that the 2026 budget draft sends a damaging signal, potentially limiting the operational capacity of international organizations like the WFP amidst escalating global hunger crises.
“These are not abstract figures” Frick emphasized. “They represent vital lifelines being severed for people in acute need”. He underscored that Germany’s international credibility is built on reliability and responsibility, asserting that withdrawal from that responsibility would exacerbate humanitarian crises worldwide while simultaneously jeopardizing Germany’s own security and stability.
The warning comes as Dietmar Bartsch, parliamentary spokesperson for the Left faction, cautioned against significant cuts to Germany’s social welfare system. Bartsch, in the same newspaper interview, suggested that Finance Minister Klingbeil’s potential cuts, mirroring a liberal-leaning approach within the governing coalition, pose a serious threat to the social state, the most significant challenge it has faced in decades.
Bartsch further advocated for a just tax and levy reform instead of potential cuts to social welfare and pensions, a direction some, like Economics Minister Reiche, have proposed. He argued that Germany currently holds a record number of wealthy individuals, indicating that the issue isn’t a lack of funds, but rather a scandalous disparity in wealth distribution. Bartsch expressed the Left’s willingness to support Klingbeil if he were to pursue the reinstatement of a wealth tax and reform inheritance and gift taxes.