At a plenary session on Tuesday 23 April, a number of MEPs once again criticised the agreement signed between the EU and the Egyptian government on 17 March to put Egypt’s economy back on a sound footing and, in particular, to enable it to prevent migrants from leaving for the EU.
This global macroeconomic partnership is worth €7 billion (see EUROPE 13373/6) and will cover various aspects of the country’s economy. Commission Vice-President Margarítis Schinás, who is responsible for Promoting Our European Way of Life, defended the agreement in front of the MEPs, saying that it was logical for the EU to want to maintain its “strategic and comprehensive mutual partnership” with the country, given the increasingly unstable situation in the region and the fact that the country’s budgetary and economic situation has deteriorated.
The EPP and ID welcomed this agreement and, more generally, agreements of this type concluded with third countries, such as those already launched with Tunisia and Mauritania, claiming that they are a step in the right direction and are also beneficial to the EU, in particular its “businesses”, said France’s Thierry Mariani (ID). In the case of Egypt, they also help to maintain the country’s ability to work for peace in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
But some MEPs, while supporting the initiative, said that the conditions of the agreement to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law were still insufficient, as Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Renew Europe, German) stressed. The agreement should ensure “concrete progress towards democratic mechanisms” whereas, for example, it is currently impossible for Egyptian civil society “to speak out against the government”, he said.
On the left of the hemicycle, the speakers were unanimous in denouncing this agreement with an authoritarian regime, which will not prevent people from “seeking security”, said Dutch MEP Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA). “This Commission thinks that by paying authoritarian regimes, people will stop looking for security”, she denounced, criticising the “blank check” given to President al-Sissi.
Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, French) said that there is an “anomaly” in the fact that the Commission is “contracting” with a country and a president who have been the subject of two European Parliament resolutions expressing concern about respect for human rights.
Portuguese Socialist Margarida Marques said it was “unacceptable” that the Commission has dispensed with the democratic control of the European Parliament on the “pretext of the urgency” of reaching agreements with third countries at a time when the EU has just adopted its Pact on migration.
“The European Parliament has shown that it can act quickly” and is a budgetary authority, she added.
The “European Parliament’s role will be fully respected”, replied Vice-President Schinás. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)