After USAID: Europe’s Moment to Lead

The closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) marks a decisive turning point in global development policy. For Europe, it creates both a strategic challenge and an opportunity to strengthen democratic resilience and leadership in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership.

With Washington’s principal aid agency dismantled and most democracy and governance programs halted, the Western Balkans (WB6) and Eastern Partnership (EaP) — together home to eight EU candidate countries — now face widening gaps in democracy support, civic resilience and institutional capacity.

Europe cannot treat this as a temporary disruption. The withdrawal of U.S. engagement removes a key pillar of democratic assistance at a moment when authoritarian and illiberal influence is rising.

To ensure an effective response, Europe should recalibrate its strategy and center its efforts on three strategic priorities:

Recalibrate for a generational U.S. policy shift: Europe must adjust its strategy to a long-term decline in U.S. democracy and governance engagement.

Close the political and delivery gaps: A unified Team Europe approach is needed to overcome fragmentation and deliver support more effectively.

Invest in democratic resilience: Europe should provide sustained support to independent media, civil society and watchdogs to safeguard democracy in the WB6 and EaP.

By coupling their leadership in energy and economic assistance with renewed support for governance and institutional resilience, Europe can collectively bridge the transatlantic gap and reaffirm its leadership in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership.