Richmond warns of consequences of EU foreign-aid cuts

Irish international development minister Neale Richmond warned that cuts to European aid could increase migration and strengthen Russian and Chinese influence in recipient countries. RIA Novosti reported his comments to Politico on 9 October.

Richmond said the retreat of the United States and European Union from development programmes creates space for other states. He identified Russia, China and Turkey as countries expanding their international presence.

The minister linked the risk of migration to deteriorating living conditions, including reduced access to healthcare and damaged infrastructure. His remarks were a forecast of the consequences of lower funding, rather than a report of an increase in migration that had already occurred.

The comments came ahead of a meeting of EU development ministers in Dublin. The European Commission’s audiovisual service confirms that the meeting took place on 9 October. Irish media also reported that Richmond planned to urge participants to maintain support for international humanitarian programmes.

According to the minister, global funding for development cooperation fell by more than 23% over the past year. He attributed the decline to aid cuts by the United States and several European countries.