The President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, representing the EU, will meet the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, on Wednesday 22 October in Brussels, for the first ever EU-Egypt summit.
According to a draft joint summit statement dated Tuesday 21 October, the leaders are expected to underline their “shared ambition to further deepen long-term strategic ties, cooperate in addressing our many global and regional common challenges, promote joint interests and renew partnership priorities”. In March 2024, the EU and Egypt signed a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, which includes financial and investment measures worth €7.4 billion for 2024-2027 (see EUROPE 13373/6). An Association Agreement has been in effect since 2004, with trade worth €32.5 billion in 2024.
In the margins of the summit, Europeans and Egyptians will formalise the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding underpinning the €4 billion Macro-Financial Assistance (see EUROPE 13662/11) and sign the Financing Agreement on ‘EU support to the implementation of socioeconomic reforms at local level’, worth €75 million, Egypt’s association with Horizon Europe and the administrative cooperation agreement on electronic signatures.
The leaders are also expected to commit to continuing bilateral exchanges towards a possible Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) to complement the existing Association Agreement.
Europeans and Egyptians are expected to agree to continue preliminary discussions with a view to establishing a Security and Defence Dialogue, to explore cooperation on cybersecurity and combatting cybercrime, and to strengthen energy cooperation and the green transition.
Migration. While the EU and Egypt have also signed a controversial agreement on migration, both parties are expected to commit to “supporting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and host communities in full respect of international law and in line with national frameworks”.
The EU is also expected to welcome Egypt’s “valuable efforts in enhancing its national migration and asylum governance, including the adoption of the National Asylum Law in December 2024, in line with the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees”.
“We remain committed to our cooperation on returns, readmissions and sustainable reintegration in a manner that is dignified, coordinated, and compliant with national and international obligations, including through exchange of information and sharing of best practices”.
The statement is also expected to cover cooperation on border management, search and rescue capacities and, where appropriate, cooperation with Frontex on document fraud.
The summit will also provide an opportunity to discuss the international situation, in particular Ukraine, but also the Middle East. In the next few weeks, Egypt will be co-hosting a summit on the reconstruction of Gaza with other European countries.
In addition, a high-level conference will be held on the sidelines of the summit on the “implementation of the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership between the EU and Egypt: accelerating strategic investment, industrial transformation and innovation”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Solenn Paulic)