The EU on March 17, signed a major aid deal with Egypt geared at curbing irregular migration to Europe’s shores and boosting the North African country’s economy.
The agreement lifts the EU’s relationship with Egypt to a “strategic partnership” and was unveiled as a delegation of leaders visited Cairo. It is designed to boost cooperation in areas including renewable energy, trade and security, while delivering grants, loans and other funding over the next three years to support Egypt’s faltering economy.
The bloc’s money for Egypt is due to be disbursed in tranches between 2024 and 2027 and will be divided into grants and loans. The proposed funding includes €5 billion in concessional loans and €1.8 billion euros of investments, according to a summary published by the EU. Another €600 million would be provided in grants, including 200 million euros for managing migration.
Such deals were “the best way to address migratory flows”, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who travelled to Cairo alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Greek, Austrian and Belgian prime ministers, and the Cypriot president.
The funds will help to shore up Egypt’s security forces and bolster its economy, which has been battered by soaring inflation and crippling unemployment. Missile attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen against commercial ships have also disrupted trade via the Red Sea, further hurting commerce in Egypt. Egypt says it has lined up a total of $20 billion in multilateral support after increasing its loan and economic reform programme with the IMF.
The agreement with Egypt fits into a series of similar deals that Brussels has signed with countries on its periphery as European leaders aim to curb irregular migration to the bloc ahead of the pan-EU election coming up in June.
European Governments have long been worried about the risk of instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people that has been struggling to raise foreign currency and where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate.
The EU leaders and el-Sisi also insisted on the need for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, with von der Leyen warning that inhabitants “face famine” in the war-torn Gaza Strip. “Gaza faces a famine and we cannot accept this,” she said.
The EU’s so-called externalization strategy for handling migration faces criticism from advocacy groups which say the deals lack safeguards on human rights, exposing migrants to brutal conditions in camps, and putting money into the hands of autocrats like Tunisian President Kais Saied. But following a migration surge in the mid-2010s, the strategy has won broad support from governments in the 27-member bloc.
After inking similar accords with Turkey, Tunisia, Mauritania and now Egypt, the EU is expected to sign another deal with Morocco. In addition, the EU has increased resources for border agency Frontex, which now counts more than 10,000 agents under its flag.
The drive to curb migration comes despite growing controversy, with some critics suggesting a discrepancy between the bloc’s approach to refugees from Ukraine and those coming from further afield.
Meanwhile, Egypt largely shut off irregular migration from its north coast in 2016, but more recently there has been a surge in Egyptians trying to cross to Europe via Libya, and the EU is already providing support aimed at reducing those flows.
In recent months, the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant arrivals, mostly from Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
“We must prevent the opening of new migration routes and we will work very closely with Egypt to ensure that this will be achieved,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adding that both countries would try to open up legal pathways on migration.
Activists have criticised Western backing for Sisi, who came to power a decade ago after leading the overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.
Sisi’s backers say security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt and pave the way for providing social rights such as housing and jobs.
The EU says its expanded partnership with Egypt is meant to promote democracy and freedoms, but its moves to offer financing in return for migration curbs in other countries including in Tunisia have run up against obstacles and criticism.
Critics also argue that Brussels is forking over huge sums to autocratic leaders who may misuse it, with little oversight in terms of respect for human rights. Last October, Tunisia refused entry to a group of EU lawmakers seeking to check how the EU-Tunis deal was being implemented.
Human rights groups argue that the deal with Tunisia has merely redirected migrants toward neighboring Libya, a war-torn country known for modern-day slavery, human traffickers and horrific mistreatment of migrants. “The blueprint is the same as the flawed EU deals with Tunisia and Mauritania: stop migrants, ignore abuses,” Human Rights Watch said.
