The agreement with Egypt adds to the controversial one signed last year with Tunisia —900 million euros of financing linked to the approval of the disbursement of the Monetary Fund— and the most recent with Mauritania, of 210 million (about 50 of them, for management of immigration). Brussels is now finalizing the design of a similar one with Morocco. The Union seeks methods to reduce irregular arrivals to the community club by supporting countries of origin or transit. And he sees a solution in these pacts, even though they are controversial. The one from Tunisia with Kais Said has been. The EU demanded a series of measures from the Tunisian president that he has refused to comply with and has even threatened to return the money. It is expected, however, that Egypt’s new pact will have the approval of the leaders – who discredited Von der Leyen’s Tunisia pact due to the lack of prior consultations – who have endorsed the model.
There have already been voices, however, in the European Parliament and from human rights and migration organizations that have warned against the formula of these pacts. The EU is signing agreements with regimes that have a disastrous record on human rights compliance. Mounir Saturi, MEP and rapporteur on EU relations with Egypt in the European Parliament, has requested details from the European Commission and has warned of the risk of these agreements. “I would like to express my concern that the European Commission’s management of financial aid to non-EU partner countries may be subject to potential violations of the European Parliament’s oversight power and transparency rules. “, he says in a letter sent to Von der Leyen, which this newspaper has been able to consult.
Tension in the Middle East
The memorandum with Egypt, with which it aspires to strengthen ties, according to the document, comes at a deeply delicate moment in the Middle East, with Israel’s war against Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of October 7 and when the situation in the Strip – and at the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which remains practically sealed – is critical.
The Egyptian economy is also under intense pressure from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea against Western ships, which are now largely choosing to avoid passing through the Suez Canal. The European Commission also wants to reactivate political dialogue with Egypt, a “reliable partner” in the region, with the holding of a summit every two years, alternately in Brussels and Cairo, according to the draft of the memorandum that is expected to be signed on Sunday. The signing will also be attended by the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, the Greek, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Italian, Giorgia Meloni, a regular on these trips and in what the head of the Community Executive has invented as “team Europe.” “, according to community sources.
Brussels has had to dig deep into its pockets for this agreement with Egypt, which comes a few weeks after the one with Mauritania, designed to stop the route to the Canary Islands. The package for Cairo combines low-interest, long-term loans with subsidies and guarantees for the country to make the reforms demanded by the Monetary Fund (IMF) — which also expects to make a large outlay. In addition, the EU promises to support the Arab country in renewable energy projects such as the Gregy Interconnector and the East Med Gas forum.
The agreement with Al Sisi is designed so that the Arab country receives 1 billion euros this year (in soft loans) as an emergency package. For this disbursement, approval is not needed from the European Parliament or from the Twenty-seven, which must endorse the remaining 4,000 in financial assistance. The rest of the funds will come from different community items. The immigration package is being discussed in a context of very tight budgets and will be given in the form of subsidies. In fact, in February the Twenty-Seven already gave the green light to a budget review for its financial framework until 2027 that includes an item for the management of immigration from the southern neighborhood, which includes Egypt, which now hosts some 480,000 asylum seekers, most of Sudan.
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