UK aid cuts take 40% from funds to counter Russian threat in western Balkans | Foreign policy
Keir Starmer’s overseas aid raid has led to a 40% cut by the prime minister to funding needed to counter Russian aggression and misinformation in the European region vital to Britain’s national security.
British funding to support the Western Balkans, where Russia is accused of sowing separatism and causing instability, has been reduced to £24 million for 2025-26 from £40 million last year.
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) is designed to tackle the highest priority threats to the UK’s national security at home and abroad.
Starmer recently described the Western Balkans region, which includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as “the crucible of Europe – where the security of our continent is put to the test”.
Last year’s ISF funds were used in part to counter and respond to malicious cyber attacks in the region and to support democratic institutions and independent media.
The cut in UK government funding appears to be a result of Starmer’s policy of reducing Official Development Assistance (ODA) for low- and middle-income countries.
The amount of ODA committed to the Western Balkans under the ISF has been reduced from £31.91 million in 2024-25 to £17 million for 2025-26. Cabinet Office figures also show a £1.15 million cut in “Non-Advertising” funding for the region.
The 2025-26 fiscal year is the first year of the gradual transition announced by the government to reduce ODA from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs select committee and former shadow foreign secretary on Starmer’s team ahead of the general election, said: “I visited the Western Balkans earlier this month. It’s quite clear they are at the forefront of the fight against Russian disinformation and interference, and I’m hugely proud of the work the UK is doing to support them in this fight for their security and the security of all of Europe. More work, not less, is needed to support independent media. People are hungry for the truth and it’s overwhelming.” It’s hard to find.”
Co-executive director and head of policy and research at Protection Approaches, a non-governmental organization working on preventing identity-based violence in the Western Balkans. Kate Ferguson said Britain has a good record in the region and this should not be undermined now.
“The national security strategy rightly recognizes that we are in a period of intensified strategic competition for the rules and governance of our world; in Europe, we see this as Russia diversifying its efforts to undermine democratic consensus,” he said.
“It is of great importance that our State Department is properly and appropriately resourced to combat these increasing threats to democracy and our collective security.
‘In recent years the UK has emerged as a reliable and principled leader in the Western Balkans, even as others sometimes falter. Now, as new forms of Russia’s aggression and malevolent influence deepen in the region, that leadership needs to be strengthened, not diluted.’
This week MI6’s new chief, Blaise Metreweli, said Britain remained “in a vacuum between peace and war” and described Russia as “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist seeking to subjugate Ukraine and harass NATO”.
Shelagh Daley, policy team leader at Saferworld, an NGO that runs programs in the Western Balkans, said the cuts appeared to be part of a move by the UK government to deprioritise conflict prevention.
“This reflects what we see as a wider trend in ISF and other foreign aid spending in the UK during the cuts. It appears that conflict prevention and peacebuilding work is not being prioritized, despite the rise of conflict globally, the further division of societies and the curtailment of fundamental freedoms.”
“At a time when risks to global security are so high, withdrawing from programs aimed at addressing the causes of conflict and fragility does not seem coherent or strategic.”
A government spokesman said: “The figures in the report represent only a fraction of the UK’s total investment in the Western Balkans on issues such as organized crime and hostile state activity.”
“ISF is designed to align with the latest national security priorities and generally funds short-term projects, which means it is natural for spending decisions to evolve over time.”
