On Friday 15 March, several NGOs, including Amnesty International and EuroMed Rights, warned the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of the harmful consequences of the partnership to be launched on 17 March in Cairo with President El-Sisi, aimed in particular at containing migratory flows towards the EU.
Accompanied by the Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriákos Mitsotákis, and the current President of the EU Council, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, the Commission President is expected to announce macroeconomic and financial support worth €7.4 billion, according to the Financial Times.
In terms of migration, the aim will be to regulate arrivals in the EU, as the country is currently home to an estimated 9 million refugees and a large number of Sudanese who have fled the war.
There are some 4 million Sudanese in Egypt, 1.5 million Syrians, 1 million Yemenis and 1 million Libyans, according to the newspaper El-Watan.
“This trip is part of the discussions that have taken place on a stronger partnership between the EU and Egypt. It follows on from President von der Leyen’s visit in November 2023”, explained the Commission in a press release on 15 March.
“Discussions between the EU and Egypt have intensified in recent years, covering a wide range of areas for action. The EU and Egypt are working together on a mutually beneficial strategic and comprehensive partnership, building on a long-standing relationship and the partnership priorities agreed last year”.
Euromed Rights wrote to the four leaders on 15 March urging them to take “all necessary measures to ensure that human rights, social and environmental sustainability, and equity are mainstreamed in the [...] agreement”.
“Our concerns regarding the content and scope of this partnership - based on the one the EU signed with Tunisia in 2023 - stem from Egypt’s appalling human rights record, including in areas, such as border control and migration management”.
The EU and Member States must include “clear benchmarks for reform in the upcoming Partnership, so as to foster the rule of law, accountable governance and stability; if not, EU financial support will risk subsidising the same unsustainable policies of the Egyptian government”.
This week, MEPs also voiced their concerns about this new partnership, in the context of a debate on Tunisia and the lack of European democratic oversight of the payment of €150 million to the “dictatorship” led by President Kais Saied (see EUROPE 13371/11).
Greens/EFA MEP Mounir Satouri (French) wrote to Ms von der Leyen on 13 March asking for an explanation of the lack of oversight for the funds paid by the Commission to Tunis; the French MEP demanded the same democratic oversight by the European institutions for the funds earmarked for Egypt.
According to the Financial Times, around €1 billion of the €7.4 billion in emergency financial assistance could be paid out immediately.
An additional €4 billion in macro-financial assistance, linked to reforms under an IMF programme currently under discussion, is also expected to be approved by the EU Member States.
According to one European diplomat, these global partnerships, based not only on migration but also on energy for economic and social development, are in “interests of both parties”. And the fact that Egypt has signed an agreement with the IMF provides “guarantees”.
The agreement with Tunisia also seems to be bearing fruit, with “significant reductions in flows”, and Tunisia “really working to prevent departures”, although we must not “let our guard down” and see what happens with “good” weather conditions.
Link to letters from Euromed Rights and Mounir Satouri: https://aeur.eu/f/bcs ; https://aeur.eu/f/bcu (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)