A biography that omits criticism is not a biography. Each case below follows the same six questions. Allegations reported only by secondary sources are marked as such. Nothing here is sensationalised.
Fig. 01Argument and response. Graphic: reemalabaliradovan.com.
01 · 2025–2026 · Development budget
Accepting successive cuts
Ongoing
What happened
The BMZ budget fell from €12.16 billion (2023) to €10.05 billion (2026). The 2027 draft foresees €9.47 billion; crisis management is cut from €710.8 million to €434.9 million.
Who criticised it
Greens (Jamila Schäfer, Schahina Gambir), the Left (Sascha Wagner), and 16 NGOs including Oxfam, ONE, CARE, Brot für die Welt, Welthungerhilfe and Misereor, who handed over about 100,000 signatures on 8 September 2026. The SPD's own Felix Döring said he had to “swallow hard”.
What was argued
Wagner: “eine Entscheidung gegen die Ärmsten” (a decision against the poorest). Schäfer: development work is “keine Almosen” (not charity). VENRO and ONE demand at least €11.2 billion for 2027.
Response
She acknowledged that the cuts reduce room for manoeuvre, and argued: “Wir setzen auf Solidarität und starke internationale Zusammenarbeit” (we rely on solidarity and strong international cooperation). The coalition says Germany will not “go the American way” of abandoning aid.
Parliamentary outcome
2026 budget adopted at €10.05 billion, slightly above the draft. The 2027 draft is in deliberation.
Current status
Final vote on the 2027 budget scheduled for late November 2026.
Federal humanitarian aid (Foreign Office budget) was planned at about €1.1 billion for 2026, half the 2024 level. In May 2026 the Bundestag debated Sudan and held government questioning on the cuts.
Who criticised it
The Greens, in a motion of 11 June 2026; VENRO; WFP, Caritas, the German Red Cross and Help (July 2026); Left MP Maren Kaminski on HIV funding.
What was argued
That aid is steered “entlang politischer Prioritäten” (along political priorities) rather than need. VENRO called the cut a fatal signal that will cost lives. The Greens demand €3 billion.
Response
“Wir stehen zur internationalen Solidarität” (we stand by international solidarity), 6 May 2026, pointing to school feeding and help for Lebanon and Gaza.
Parliamentary outcome
The Greens' motion 21/6338 was referred to committee.
The January 2026 reform plan strengthens economic cooperation, loans and German business involvement.
Who criticised it
Greens and the Left (hib 134/2026); Brot für die Welt; Welthungerhilfe (100-day review); the newspaper taz.
What was argued
That German economic and geopolitical interests are placed above the 2030 Agenda and human rights, and that there is no clear strategy for employment-driven development.
Response
The ministry argues the reform makes policy “strategischer, fokussierter und partnerschaftlicher” and that partners and Germany both gain.
Parliamentary outcome
She defended the plan in the development committee on 25 February 2026.
A portal funded by her office explained legal grounds that can prevent deportation.
Who criticised it
CDU MPs Philipp Amthor and Dietrich Monstadt.
What was argued
Amthor: “Dieses Amt ist es nicht wert, fortgeführt zu werden, jedenfalls erst recht nicht durch diese Person.” (This office is not worth continuing, certainly not by this person.)
Response
The content dated from 2018, under her CDU predecessor Annette Widmann-Mauz, from a project that ended in 2022. The link was removed. The SPD's working group on migration and diversity defended her.
Outcome
No parliamentary consequence. The office continued.
She called for a ceasefire and Palestinian participation in Gaza's future, criticised the Israeli government over Gaza and settlement building, and regretted in July 2025 that Germany had not joined a 29-country statement on Gaza.
Who criticised it
An opinion piece by Sacha Stawski in the Jüdische Allgemeine (29 January 2026). Opposition MPs raised Gaza in government questioning.
What was argued
The opinion piece accused her of adopting Hamas narratives and of wrongly blaming Israel for obstructing aid. It is an opinion article, not news reporting.
Response
Her statements also condemn Hamas, demand the release of the hostages and exclude a role for Hamas in Gaza.
GIZ, the implementing organisation, dismissed or suspended 24 local staff in Yemen. Separately, the Federal Audit Office reported a hydrogen fund with €270 million deployed and no projects after three years.
Who criticised it
CDU MP Nicolas Zippelius raised the fraud cases in the September 2026 debate; the AfD raised GIZ IT problems in May 2026.
What was argued
Insufficient control of implementing organisations.
Response
GIZ closed its investigation on 18 September 2026: about €1 million in deliberate fraud, and about €14 million to be repaid because of documentation failures.
Outcome
Repayment and personnel measures.
Current status
This concerns GIZ as an agency, not personal conduct by the minister.
