The two parties that will likely form the next German government disagree about aid cuts, according to a partial draft of the coalition contract leaked to Politico.
The center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD, wants aid to constitute “at least 0.7% of GNI,” aligning with the goal endorsed by the United Nations, the European Union, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. While this would be less than the German average spending on official development assistance, or ODA, over the past five years, it’s above 2024 spending and substantially above the average spent by members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, or DAC.
The larger conservative Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, is arguing for deeper cuts, however. Though it has not specified a number, it has explicitly asked for less than 0.7%. Their draft language vaguely mentions an “appropriate reduction of the ODA-rate” below 0.7% to “consolidate public spending.”