In a word increasingly dominated by conflict and tension, international aid seems to be one of the first casualties.
The past few years have seen a growing number of countries slashing or scaling back their budget devoted to developing economies.
With some exceptions, cuts have been particularly severe in the US (-56% from 2023 to 2025) as well as in Canada (-25%) and several European countries.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated a drop in international aid resources ranging from 9% to 17% in 2025.
Germany, the UK, France and Italyareamong the countries that, whether in GDP or absolute terms, have reduced their commitments. Spain, on the other hand, bucks the trend, though its contribution – 0.25% of its gross national income – is still far from the UN’s 0.7% goal.
Is Europe’s public on board? Not quite so.
Asurvey of 10,000 Europeans by More in Common, an international non-profit initiative, found that at least half of respondents in Ireland (55%), Spain (54%) and Denmark (50%) think international aid has a positive impact on the EU’s global influence.
At the same time, support is much lower in France (35%) and Germany (36%).
Europe’s priorities: From counterterrorism to disaster relief
Scepticism fades when aid is framed as a way to bolster Europe’s influence and security — from protecting borders to managing migration safely.
In fact, the majority in France (75%), Denmark (80%) and Germany (71%) believe EU aid should prioritise security and counterterrorism programmes.
By contrast, Spaniards favour disaster relief (79%) while Irish respondents see clean water and sanitation as the top priority.
The vast majority of European surveyed say international aid is worth it if it strengthens Europe’s security. However, German and French respondents appear to be the most sceptical, as around one in four disagrees.
“Development aid isn’t high-salience for most voters across Europe, but they do have clear instincts and priorities”, More in Common’s lead researcher Conleth Burn told Europe in Motion.
“What’s striking across the research is the low confidence Europeans have in Europe’s ability to navigate the current geopolitical environment – many question Europe’s influence full stop, so it’s unsurprising some see aid as making little difference to that picture.”
Does the EU’s international aid increase make up for these cuts?
The EU’s aid budget costs around €4 per EU citizen per year. The bloc is one of the world’s largest donors. Its budget has consistently grown, reaching €1.9 billion in contributions in 2025.
Humanitarian organisations estimate that the cumulative sum goes up to €2.5 billionif other financial tools, like the Emergency Aid Reserve, are considered.ff
Yet, civil society analysts point out that despite the EU’s top-ups, combined international aid from EU institutions doesn’t make up for the cuts by the single member states.
According to Concord, a European confederation of NGOs working in international cooperation, between 2023 and 2024, there was an 8.6% decrease in real terms among member states.
Which countries are the largest donors?
Across OECD, the US stands out as the biggest net contributor to official development assistance, with nearly €56 billion in 2024 ($65.5 billion), followed by Germany with almost €28 billion.
However, based on single countries’ Gross National Income (GNI), Norway and Luxembourg emerge as the most generous donors with around 1%, followed by Sweden (0.79%), Denmark (0.72%) and Germany (0.68%), while the United States provided 0.23%.
The Czech Republic (0.16%), Greece (0.15%) and Hungary (0.09%) place last among European countries in the OECD table.
