EU representatives are expected this weekend in Cairo to sign a vast cooperation and development agreement with Egypt with Gaza and the migration issue in the background.
A large European delegation including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, is expected this weekend. end in Cairo.
The Europeans will meet Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, the Egyptian president, as part of discussions on a strengthened partnership between the EU and Egypt.
Discussions between the EU and Egypt have intensified in recent years to cover a wide range of intervention areas (energy, climate, migration and investments). European aid of 7.4 billion euros in loans and donations by 2027 could be announced.
The EU and Egypt are working together on a comprehensive, long-term partnership for this key North African country of some 106 million inhabitants.
Egypt has already received an amount of 240 million euros during the period of 2021-2024 in grants under the European Neighborhood Instrument to support green and sustainable development, human development, economic resilience and strengthening prosperity.
This new strategic partnership follows the economic support that Egypt obtained from the United Arab Emirates and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Between the end of February and the beginning of March, Cairo received some $10 billion from the Emirati ADQ fund, as part of an agreement to the development of approximately 180 square kilometers in Ras el Hekma, along the northern Egyptian coast. A project which involves an initial investment of 35 billion dollars and which will replenish the state coffers, burdened by the effects of the war in the Gaza Strip. On March 6, the IMF announced that it wanted to increase the value of the loan it will grant to Egypt in exchange for economic reforms from 3 to 8 billion dollars.
This aid responds to the concern of the international community regarding the financial situation of Egypt, on the verge of bankruptcywhose external debt amounted to $164.5 billion last September, with foreign exchange reserves at half mast ($35.2 billion, the equivalent of 6.5 months of merchandise imports).
The war in Gaza at the heart of concerns
In the midst of the war between Hamas and Israel, the President of the European Commission recalled during her last trip to Cairo that “L‘Egypt truly represents a lifeline for Gaza’ and that the EU used “fully this lifeline to meet the humanitarian needs in Gaza.”
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi once again warned of the serious consequences that the Israeli operation in Rafah could have: an influx of Palestinian refugees towards Egypt. Speaking in Cairo to police academy students, he again called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to allow aid to “put an end to famine and its impact on the population”. He warned against the expansion of war in the region, saying it would threaten “safety of navigation in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal”which in turn would affect international trade.
The migration agenda in the background
The Italian Prime Minister also intends to take advantage of her trip to Cairo to advance her own political agenda regarding the migration issue. According to Giorgia Meloni, the partnership with Egypt is part of the same approach as the controversial memorandum of understanding signed in the summer of 2023 between the EU and Tunisia to respond to the question of immigration and economic development for both parties.
Since coming to power, Giorgia Meloni has defended an overall plan in Africa to combat migratory pressure via her “Mattei plan”.
