The European Union today concluded an agreement in Cairo to strengthen its partnership with Egypt and pledged to provide up to €7.4 billion (CZK 186 billion) to support its economy until 2027.The EU wants to stabilise the Egyptian economy by, among other things, reducing the number of immigrants from the region. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen was accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, at the signing of the agreement in Egypt.
Investment Breakdown
Of the total investment package, five billion is direct financial assistance in the form of loans, the remaining 1.8 billion is investment and 600 million in grants, of which 200 million is to go directly to migration-related expenditure, according to figures provided to the media today by the Commission. Of the five-billion loan, four billion must still be approved by the European Parliament and Egypt will receive one billion by the end of this year, Reuters reported. The agreement is expected to strengthen cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, trade or security.
“The partnership between the European Union and Egypt is of key importance,” von der Leyen told a news conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi. “Given your political and economic weight, as well as your strategic location in a very turbulent region, the importance of our relationship will only grow,” she continued.
Egypt’s Strategic Significance
European governments have long feared instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million. In light of near-record inflation, the Egyptian authorities, in addition to the agreement with the EU, have expanded the International Monetary Fund loan programme, struck a new deal on investment from the United Arab Emirates and sharply devalued the Egyptian pound.
Egypt is a strategic country for the EU in terms of migration; its Sinai Peninsula borders the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues, in which Egypt plays an important diplomatic role. To the south, it borders Sudan, where fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Units has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Migration Challenges
In recent months, EU authorities have seen a surge in Egyptian migration via Libya or the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos. Frontex, the EU’s external border protection agency, recorded a 117 percent increase in illegal crossings of the EU’s so-called Eastern Mediterranean route in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year. However, Egyptians are only the third most common nationality among migrants on this route, with Afghans and Syrians in the top two places.
The Eastern Mediterranean Route designation includes migration routes from Turkey to Greece by sea and land and several land routes via Bulgaria and Northern Cyprus.
However, the purpose of the new EU-Egypt agreement is not only to get more Egyptians to stay in their country, but to establish wider cooperation with Egypt in managing migration from other countries, such as Sudan, according to a European Commission statement.
Source: čtk
