EU urges Trump to rethink fund cuts

U.S. is the largest source of financial support for WHO

The European Union on Saturday urged President Donald Trump to rethink his decision to terminate the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization as spiking infection rates in India and elsewhere reinforced that the pandemic is far from contained.

Trump on Friday charged that the WHO didn’t respond adequately to the pandemic and accused the U.N. agency of being under China’s “total control.”

The U.S. is the largest source of financial support for the WHO, and its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organization.

Trump said the U.S. would be “redirecting” the money to “other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” without providing specifics.

The head of the EU’S executive arm urged Trump to reconsider. “The

WHO needs to continue being able to lead the international response to pandemics, current and future,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “For this, the participation and support of all is required and very much needed.”

The WHO wouldn’t comment on the announcement but South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize called it an “unfortunate” turn of events.

“Certainly, when faced with a serious pandemic, you want all nations in the world to be particularly focused ... on one common enemy,” he told reporters.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called Trump’s decision the “wrong signal at the wrong time.” He said Berlin would have “intensive discussions” with Washington to try to convince the U.S. government to reconsider.

“The number of people infected worldwide is increasing and the crisis is spreading,” Maas told Germany’s Funke media group. “We can’t tear down the dike in the middle of the flood and build a new one.”

In China, where the virus outbreak began, only four new confirmed cases were reported Saturday, all brought from outside the country, and no new deaths. Just 63 people remained in treatment.

After judging the situation there now safe, a chartered flight carrying 200 German managers back to their jobs landed in Tianjin, a port city east of Beijing.

A flight carrying another 200 was due in Shanghai on Thursday.

“I’m really happy that business is starting again,” said Karin Wasowski, a Volkswagen employee, before boarding the flight in Frankfurt. “I’ve been working from a home office but that is, of course, something completely different to being there.”

More than 5,200 German companies operate in China, employing more than 1 million people.