“For our part, we do not interfere in American elections,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a press conference on Wednesday. “Conversely, I do not want the American government or institutions close to the government to interfere in German elections.”
He was answering a new US State Department scheme that offers grants of up to $3 million to European charities, think tanks and individuals. The money is meant for those seeking to “address national sovereignty, migration, censorship and lawfare challenges in line with shared political philosophy, law and our common western civilizational heritage.” Critics see it as support for Maga-aligned causes.
Merz said he did not want Washington to interfere in German state elections in September. He also pointed out that financing political parties in Germany from abroad is illegal.
Who can apply
The grants are called “Developing Civilizational Bonds, Democratic Resilience and Rule of Law in Europe” and are run by the department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The bureau was set up under President Jimmy Carter as a Cold War instrument against Soviet and rightwing authoritarian regimes, and has been repurposed under the Trump administration.
A former State Department official said the wording on eligibility is ambiguous. The announcement says “individuals” and “governmental institution” (sic) can apply, with no detail on what either category covers. The official described the scheme as part of a months-long effort to repurpose US funds for far-right groups and possibly political parties in Europe. “There seems to be an effort by the state department to put the thumb on the scale of elections in Europe,” the official said, “giving an unfair advantage to rightwing parties with resources that they would ordinarily not get.”
Earlier reporting suggested the department wanted to fund European parties but could be held back by US foreign assistance law.
The department’s reply
A State Department spokesperson said the Trump administration “remains committed to defending democracy and human rights around the world, including in Europe.” Its programs there, the spokesperson said, aim to help allies defend those rights and their “civilizational self-confidence and sovereignty from those who seek to undermine them.” The spokesperson added: “These funds are not available to political parties.”
A run of friction
The grants follow attacks by US figures, including Vice-President JD Vance, on traditional European allies over migration, abortion and online safety rules. State Department officials have also been building ties with social conservative groups and far-right parties in Europe. A US national security strategy issued in December said Europe faced “civilisational erasure” and praised the growing influence of “patriotic European parties.”
Last month the UK government rejected a claim by Sarah B Rogers, a senior State Department official, that British police were making thousands of “freedom of speech” arrests. She made it at a rightwing conference in London. Earlier this year Rogers pledged $500,000 in US funding to “promote digital freedom” during a visit to Ireland.
Possible recipients include Britain’s Free Speech Union and groups that lost funding after Viktor Orbán’s loss of power in Hungary. The Guardian asked the Prosperity Institute, a British think tank, whether it is likely to apply.
