The Foreign Affairs and Development committees of the European Parliament adopted on 3 June 2026 a second objection to EU funding for Tanzania, rejecting a revised plan to finance an annual action plan worth around EUR 156 million and calling on the European Commission to withdraw it.
The committees adopted the motion, tabled jointly by David McAllister, chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Barry Andrews, chair of the Committee on Development, by 81 votes in favour, 1 against, and 4 abstentions.
The objection targets Commission Implementing Decision D115284/01 on the financing of the annual action plan for Tanzania for 2026, which the committees consider exceeds the implementing powers provided for under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI-Global Europe (Regulation (EU) 2021/947), is not consistent with Union law, and does not adequately take into account the concerns the Parliament expressed in its resolution of 27 November 2025.
It is the second time in seven months that the two committees have moved to block the same financing, the current draft being a revised version of the plan they first objected to in November 2025, which the Commission then suspended.
According to the resolution, the revised draft, presented to the NDICI Committee on 20 May 2026, maintains the same overall amount, estimated at EUR 156 million, and broadly the same actions as the suspended version, the key change being that it would be implemented mainly through indirect management rather than direct budget support to the Tanzanian authorities.
The committees rejected the revised plan on the same legal grounds as before, considering that the draft decision exceeds the implementing powers provided for in the regulation, is not consistent with Union law, and does not adequately take into account the concerns the Parliament expressed in its resolution of 27 November 2025.
The resolution regrets that the Commission did not suspend the adoption process a second time after being informed of the Parliament’s renewed concerns, and calls on it to withdraw the draft and submit a new proposal that does not adversely affect the inclusive provision of basic services to the population, the protection of human rights and democracy, or support to civil society organisations.
For the objection to formally halt the funding, it must still be ratified by the full Parliament plenary.
Among developments cited since the November 2025 objection, the resolution references the Tanzanian national commission of inquiry into the violence surrounding the 29 October 2025 elections, which acknowledged on 23 April 2026 that at least 518 people had died but did not identify those responsible or make its findings public.
It adds that the Tanzanian authorities refused a visit by a delegation from the Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights in May 2026, and that the government has not fulfilled any of the demands set out in the Parliament’s resolutions of 8 May and 27 November 2025.
It notes that opposition leader Tundu Lissu, chair of Chadema, has been detained for more than a year on charges that can carry the death penalty.
The Government of Tanzania responded on the same day through a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.
The Ministry stated that the vote forms part of the internal decision-making procedures of the European Parliament, and that at this stage only the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development have considered and voted on the proposals.
It said the process has not yet been concluded, noting that proposals adopted at committee level must subsequently be submitted to the Plenary of the European Parliament, comprising more than 700 Members, for debate and decision.
The Ministry added that relations between the European Union and its partner countries, including Tanzania, are conducted through the European Commission as the executive arm of the Union, and that the recommendations adopted by the parliamentary committees should not be construed as a direct decision determining the future of relations between Tanzania and the European Union.
It stated that relations between Tanzania and the European Union remain strong and continue across a broad range of areas of mutual interest.
The objection process began on 20 November 2025, when the two committees first adopted an objection to the original 2025 plan, Decision D110180/02, by 53 votes to 2 with 1 abstention, prompting the Commission to suspend the adoption process.
On 27 November 2025, the full Parliament adopted a separate resolution on the human rights situation in Tanzania by 539 votes to 0, with 27 abstentions.
The European Union, its Member States, the European Investment Bank, and European development banks are significant partners in Tanzania, with the EU having estimated its investment in the country at EUR 3 billion (TZS 8.3 trillion) over the ten years to 2024, and a private sector presence in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism.
The EU annual action plan funds programmes in areas including civil society, governance, education, health, and energy infrastructure, and has remained suspended since November 2025.
