The German chancellor has criticized a new US State Department funding program for Europe launched ahead of Septembers federal vote

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned the administration of US President Donald Trump against interfering in his country's elections.

Germany is due to hold federal elections in September, with immigration expected to be among the campaign's defining issues.

"It is illegal to finance political parties in Germany from abroad," Merz said on Wednesday. "And I assume that our friends around the world, in particular, will also abide by these legal rules that we have established in Germany."

Merz's remarks came after the US State Department launched a grant program on Monday worth nearly $5 million to support projects aimed at strengthening democratic resilience, the rule of law, freedom of speech and the press, and human rights in Europe.

The department said beneficiaries should address "national sovereignty, migration, censorship, and lawfare challenges" in line with a "shared political philosophy," the law, and "our common Western civilizational heritage."

"For our part, we do not interfere in American elections," Merz told reporters. "Conversely, I do not want the American government or institutions close to the government to interfere in German elections."

Although political parties are not explicitly listed as eligible for the grants, Merz stressed that foreign funding of political actors is illegal under German law.

Responding to Merz's criticism, a US State Department spokesperson told Politico that the Trump administration remained committed to "defending democracy and human rights around the world, including in Europe." The spokesperson said the funding was intended to help European allies protect those rights, along with their "civilizational self-confidence and sovereignty from those who seek to undermine them."

The funding is part of a months-long effort by the Trump administration to redirect US government money toward supporting nationalist and right-wing groups - and potentially political parties - across Europe, in line with its National Security Strategy, The Guardian said on Thursday, citing former US officials.

According to the outlet, the program's eligibility criteria are broad and vague, allowing applications from "individuals" and "governmental institution[s]" without clarifying who qualifies.

"There seems to be an effort by the State Department to put the thumb on the scale of elections in Europe, giving an unfair advantage to rightwing parties with resources that they would ordinarily not get," one former State Department official told the outlet.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party initially embraced backing from figures close to Trump, including Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance, who criticized Europe's treatment of right-wing parties at last year's Munich Security Conference. The party has since publicly distanced itself from the MAGA movement as it prepares for September's state elections in eastern Germany.

The grant program is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to deepen ties with socially conservative groups and right-wing political movements across Europe. The new US National Security Strategy, released in December, claims Europe is facing "civilizational erasure" and praises the growing influence of "patriotic European parties," in what appears to be a reference to populist movements.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Russia and China of election interference, but now appears to be seeking to influence votes in Europe. In a prime-time address on Thursday, Trump claimed Chinese intelligence had obtained 220 million US voter records, calling it the "largest compromise" of election data in the country's history. Beijing rejected the allegation, saying it "has never and will never interfere" in US presidential elections.

(RT.com)