To: His Excellency António Costa
Brussels, 1 March 2025
Re: Special Council Meeting on 6 March on European Defence & Ukraine
Dear Mr Costa,
Ahead of the special European Council meeting that you scheduled for 6 March, we write to urge you to resist a dangerous and false dichotomy: the idea that increasing defence spending must come at the expense of international development assistance (ODA). Cutting aid would be both a moral failure and a strategic mistake. At a time of growing instability, hunger, and global crises, when conflict, climate disasters and inequality are worsening, Europe must reaffirm its commitment to multilateralism and solidarity, and show global leadership. We know the only way to meet the daunting challenges of our time is together.
True security is not built on military force alone. It is built through commitments to stability, diplomacy, democracy and development. Reducing aid in the name of security will not make our world safer; it will make it more fragile by deepening global inequalities, increasing humanitarian crises and fuelling the conflicts we seek to prevent, ultimately undermining long-term global security and stability.
The Trump administration’s decision to pause foreign development assistance and dismantle USAID is threatening the lives and futures of communities in many of the EU’s partner countries. At a time when isolationist and nationalist politics are gaining dangerous grounds, Europe can show that there is another way than retreating from multilateral commitments and global cooperation. This is Europe’s moment to step up and offer a different vision.
Your Excellency, now is the time for Europe to scale up its role in tackling poverty, humanitarian crises and inequalities. We urge you to guide all European leaders away from short-term military priorities and inward-focused policies. Instead, we call for moral and strategic leadership by focusing on long-term global stability and prosperity and being a force for good in the world. We call on you to champion a European vision that is based on multilateralism, solidarity and support for those in the most vulnerable situations, and show that these are essential pillars of a safer, more just, more equal world.
Our security is strengthened by our support for others, not undermined by it. We ask you to protect and champion aid, so that we can address global challenges together with communities and partner countries in the Global South, and build a safer, fairer, and more connected world for all.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Evelien van Roemburg
Director EU Office
Oxfam International