The European Union announced a 7.4 billion euro aid package for cash-strapped Egypt on Sunday amid concerns that economic pressure, conflict and chaos in neighboring countries could push more migrants to European coasts.
The deal is expected to be signed during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and leaders of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus and Greece, according to Egyptian officials.
The package includes both grants and loans over the next three years to the most populous country in the Arab world (109 million inhabitants), according to the European Union mission in Cairo.
The two sides elevated their cooperation to the level of a “strategic and comprehensive partnership”, paving the way for the expansion of cooperation between Egypt and the EU in various economic and non-economic fields.
EU will provide assistance to the Egyptian government to strengthen its borders, particularly with Libya, a major transit point for migrants fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East, and will support the government in welcoming Sudanese who have fled nearly a year of fighting between the two countries. rival generals in their country.
Egypt has for decades a refuge for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who are trying to escape war or poverty. For some, Egypt is a destination and a refuge, the closest and easiest country to reach. For others, it is a transit point before attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean to Europe.
Although the Egyptian coast has not been a major launching pad for smugglers and human traffickers who send overloaded boats across the Mediterranean to Europe, Egypt faces migratory pressures from the region, with the added threat that the war between Israel and Hamas will spread beyond its borders. .
This partnership has drawn criticism from international human rights organizations regarding Egypt’s human rights record. Amnesty International denounced the agreement and urged European leaders not to be complicit in human rights violations in Egypt.
“EU leaders must ensure that the Egyptian authorities adopt clear human rights standards,” Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said in a statement. And to emphasize Egypt’s restrictions on media and freedom of expression, as well as repression against civil society.