Trump Budget Plan Is Bad News for Eastern Europe
Trump Budget Plan Is Bad News for Eastern Europe
(Bloomberg) -- On edge as President Donald Trump cozied up to Vladimir Putin, eastern Europe breathed a sigh of relief when U.S. officials swung by to reassure them of unwavering support. But Washington’s spending proposals tell a different story.
Despite Vice President Mike Pence touring the ex-communist region to affirm backing against the “specter” of Russian aggression, the White House is seeking sweeping funding cuts for its allies. Reductions in the State Department budget would lower funding for Europe and Eurasia by $336 million, as well as other programs covering support for democracy and development assistance.
Nations affected include Estonia, which shares a border with its ex-Soviet master, Georgia, which fought a five-day war with Putin’s troops in 2008, and Ukraine, where Russia annexed Crimea and fomented a bloody conflict that remains unresolved.
While Trump’s proposed cuts in State Department programs may not win approval in Congress -- key Republicans are joining Democrats in opposition -- the budget plan sends a strong message on Trump’s priorities.
Alongside the State Department cuts, the White House is urging an increase in spending at the Department of Defense, some of which is earmarked for eastern Europe. It’s unclear how much: while $1.4 billion more is headed to the European Reassurance Initiative, details currently available don’t give a breakdown by country.
Only one nation in eastern Europe is named, and it’s in for a boost. Ukraine, whose 2018 aid via the State Department is set to plunge by a third, is in line for $150 million for training and equipment to “defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Even if eastern Europe does receive more from the defense budget, the spending changes signal the U.S. is retreating from efforts to firm up democracy in the region, according to Jonathan Katz, a resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a former U.S. Agency for International Development official.
“Previous administrations have sought to balance defense, diplomacy and development,” he said by phone. “What this administration is proposing to do is out of balance.”
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nicholas Rigillo at nrigillo@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley