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Budget against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
Foreign Minister Baerbock speaks to the Bundestag., © Flashpic
On 7 September, the draft budget for the Federal Foreign Office for 2023 had its first reading in the Bundestag. In her speech to the Bundestag, Foreign Minister Baerbock set out how important the earmarked funding is in light of Russia’s war of aggression and the food crisis.
As of 2023, the check on public borrowing will again be applied to the federal budget, which will be considerably reduced as a result. The proposed Federal Foreign Office budget will also be 10% smaller than in 2022. All in all, the draft budget allocates 6.397 billion euro for the Federal Foreign Office.
Priorities in the spheres of international organisations and humanitarian assistance
The largest share of the proposed ministerial budget, 3.432 billion euro, will go to safeguarding peace and stability. This sphere will thus account for more than half of the overall planned budget for the Federal Foreign Office. In addition to spending on assessed contributions for the United Nations and the contributions to international organisations such as NATO, this chapter also includes the budget item “humanitarian assistance”. In view of global challenges such as the food crisis and the impact of climate change, two billion euro have been earmarked for this budget item.
In her speech to the German Bundestag, Foreign Minister Baerbock stressed that against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, diplomacy was mainly being conducted behind the scenes, for example through the United Nations. The task was to save people’s lives:
That is why I, my team, the German Government and the Federal Chancellor strongly support the organisations that still have some access to Ukraine ‒ the International Committee of the Red Cross to enable humanitarian corridors and the IAEA to prevent a nuclear disaster. This is effective diplomacy.
Funding for cultural relations and education policy is to be reduced. A lower amount of 973 million euro is now planned for this sphere. Here, too, Foreign Minister Baerbock underscored the importance of cultural relations and education policy in one of the worst foreign-policy crises.