In view of the tight budget, Development Minister Schulze emphasized the importance of development aid for the economy. Global problems can only be solved through global cooperation, said Schulze in ARD morning magazine.
Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze has rejected calls to cut development aid to finance agricultural subsidies or flood relief. Germany is an export nation and thrives on openness and international partnerships, said the SPD politician ARD morning magazine. Isolation is not good policy, emphasized Schulze.
Advancing climate protection worldwide
The Federal Republic has also committed itself to providing aid worldwide in the Paris Climate Protection Agreement. In order to reduce CO2 emissions, for example, projects in developing countries could produce much better and faster results than measures in Germany. Global problems can only be solved through global cooperation.
“Farmers in particular are suffering the most from climate change.” They should have an interest in Germany being able to stop many of these developments. That’s why Germany must help advance climate protection worldwide, said Schulze. “And if we manage to save CO2 in Peru, what we can do here is often much cheaper. That’s why it’s money that’s absolutely wisely invested.”
The minister was responding to demands from the Union, FDP and farmers’ associations to cut development aid in favor of domestic political projects. The federal government is planning to significantly cut funding for development aid.
Schulze wants to tax the super-rich more heavily
With a view to tight budget resources, the SPD politician supports the demand to tax the super-rich more heavily. “When you see that the richest men in the world have doubled their wealth in recent years and the poorest are getting poorer, then you have to encourage the super-rich more,” she said, referring to a recently published Oxfam study.
Accordingly, the five richest men in the world have more than doubled their wealth since 2020, to $869 billion. All billionaires were able to increase their wealth by $3.3 trillion over the same period – while the almost five billion poorest people in the world lost $20 billion in wealth.
Less money for Schulze’s department
In 2023, the budget for Svenja Schulze’s department amounted to 12.16 billion euros. 11.52 billion euros were planned for 2024, but according to the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling it should be even less.
The church aid organizations bread for the World and Misereor have sharply criticized the planned cuts in development cooperation and humanitarian aid in the federal budget. This step would hit the most vulnerable people the hardest.