US media: Trump will close several embassies and consulates, drastic funding cuts expected for NATO and other organizations

Closures of embassies and consulates, funding cuts to NATO and international organizations: what is the State Department planning and which representations are expected to close in the Balkans?

The two major American newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, are reporting that the administration of US President Donald Trump is considering cutting the State Department's budget by 50 percent. The administration is also planning to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates, as well as reduce or merge the staff of several other diplomatic missions abroad. The New York Times and the Washington Post are referring to an internal State Department document.

The plan also includes cuts to spending on humanitarian aid, global health, and international organizations like the United Nations and NATO. The document recommends closing two small embassies in Europe — in Luxembourg and Malta — as well as closing diplomatic missions in Grenada and the Maldives. Most of the consulates recommended for closure are in Europe and include several popular tourist destinations for Americans. Five of the consulates are in France — in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg. Two are in Germany — in Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Two others, Mostar and Banja Luka, are in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The document also suggests closing consulates in Thessaloniki, Greece; Florence, Italy; Ponta Delgada, Portugal; and Edinburgh. Outside Europe, it recommends closing four more consulates: in Douala, Cameroon; Medan, Indonesia; Durban, South Africa; and Busan, South Korea. Six of the embassies the document proposes to close are located in Africa: in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo and South Sudan. It recommends that their functions be transferred to embassies in neighboring countries.

The Washington Post writes: “Any plan for drastic funding cuts and job eliminations is expected to further damage morale at the State Department, where many rank-and-file employees have expected Trump’s return to office to deliver a major shake-up. ‘The question is: From the current low point of morale, can they find an even lower low?’ said Ronald E. Neumann, a former career diplomat who served as ambassador to Algeria, Bahrain and Afghanistan.”

While the New York Times highlights: “If implemented, the proposed cuts would mean that the United States would have a smaller diplomatic presence than China in Europe, where American missions currently outnumber Chinese ones, according to data compiled by the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based foreign policy think tank. It would also mean that the United States would fall even further behind China in Africa and East Asia, where Chinese missions currently outnumber American ones.”

The document, writes "The New York Times", also describes a complete cut in funding for international peacekeeping missions, citing "recent mission failures" as the reason, without providing further details./A2