The European Commission has responded with sharp criticism to the Trump administration issuing a US withdrawal from 66 international organisations, sharply escalating Washington’s retreat from multilateral cooperation and putting even more pressure on transatlantic relations.
US president Donald Trump signed a directive on Wednesday (7 January), with secretary of state Marco Rubio describing the targeted bodies as “mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run” and in some cases “irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests.”
Coming amid disputes over the US' military action in Venezuela and threats against Greenland, the withdrawal intensifies pressure on the fragile global order.
In a written statement, Rubio said the decision followed a review that found many of the organisations to be redundant or a threat to US “sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity,” echoing long‑standing “America First” criticism of global institutions.
Most of the outfits focus on climate, migration and diversity‑related initiatives that the administration has repeatedly attacked as part of a so-called 'woke' international agenda.
Among the organisations affected are the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and, most controversially, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the treaty that underpins international climate talks.
The UNFCCC was adopted in 1992 and entered into force in 1994, and today counts almost every country in the world as a party. It created the Conference of the Parties (COP), the annual UN climate summit.
The US did not participate in the last climate conference in November of 2025 in Bélem, Brazil.
Additionally, since returning to office, Trump has once again withdrawn from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord — repeating his action from his first term, which his successor Joe Biden had reversed.
European leaders were quick to criticise the move, framing it as a blow to global climate efforts and to the broader rules‑based order.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra called the US decision to quit the UNFCCC “regrettable and unfortunate,” stressing that the convention “underpins global climate action” and that the EU “will continue to fully support it.”
Commission vice‑president Teresa Ribera was blunter in a post on BlueSky, saying that “the White House doesn’t care about environment, health or the suffering of people” and accusing Trump of abandoning vulnerable communities on the front line of the climate crisis.
In Brussels, officials insist the EU will stick to supporting the international organisations and maintain funding for international climate research and adaptation programmes, with or without US backing.
"From the European Union side and the Commission side, we continue to uphold our international commitments and we will continue to play a leading role in the international fora in these aspects,“ a commission spokesperson said on Thursday.
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Hannah Kriwak is a junior reporter from Austria at EUobserver, covering European politics.
Hannah Kriwak is a junior reporter from Austria at EUobserver, covering European politics.