Germany's Friedrich Merz has drawn a clear line with the Trump administration over a newly announced US funding initiative that critics say is designed to boost right-wing movements across Europe. The state department has unveiled a grants program offering up to $3 million to European charities, think tanks, and individuals working on issues like national sovereignty, migration, and what it calls censorship and lawfare.
Merz made his position blunt at a Wednesday press conference, signaling that while Germany respects American elections, the reverse should hold true. "For our part, we do not interfere in American elections," he said. "Conversely, I do not want the American government or institutions close to the government to interfere in German elections." Germany holds state elections in September.
Former state department officials describe the scheme as part of a broader months-long effort to direct US government resources toward far-right groups and potentially political parties in Europe. The language used to define eligible recipients is deliberately vague, allowing applications from "individuals" and "governmental institution" without clear parameters on who qualifies.
The concern runs deeper than rhetoric. German law explicitly prohibits foreign financing of political parties, a restriction Merz pointedly mentioned. One former state department official warned of what amounts to election tilting. "There seems to be an effort by the state department to put the thumb on the scale of elections in Europe, giving an unfair advantage to rightwing parties with resources that they would ordinarily not get," the official said.
This latest initiative fits a larger pattern. Vice President JD Vance has publicly criticized traditional European allies on migration, abortion, and online safety policies. State department officials have been actively cultivating relationships with European social conservative groups and far-right parties. A December national security strategy document claimed Europe faced "civilisational erasure" and praised the rising sway of "patriotic European parties."
Sarah B Rogers has emerged as the public face of this shift in state department priorities. Speaking at right-wing conferences and visiting organizations like Britain's Prosperity Institute, Rogers pledged $500,000 to "promote digital freedom" during an Ireland visit last month. The grants are being administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, a Cold War-era office originally created under Jimmy Carter to counter both Soviet and right-wing authoritarian regimes.
The program could potentially benefit organizations across Europe, from Britain's Free Speech Union to Hungarian groups that have struggled financially since Viktor Orbán's political fortunes dimmed. The UK government has already rejected claims made by Rogers at a London conference, where she alleged British police were making thousands of "freedom of speech" arrests.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is what happens when a superpower gets comfortable using development money as a political tool: it trades credibility for short-term influence and ends up looking desperate."
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