A migration agreement between the European Union and Egypt is to be concluded in the Egyptian capital with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and their counterparts Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Greece) and Alexander De Croo (EU Presidency Belgium). The deal is worth 7.4 billion euros to the EU.
According to the Federal Chancellery, this sum should flow into the country on the Nile, which has around 110 million inhabitants, by 2027. This also has to do with constant population growth, Nehammer reminded Austrian journalists on the outbound flight. “A million people are added every year.”
The financial package includes grants for bilateral (400 million) and migration-specific projects (200 million) such as the care of third-country nationals or border protection. Five billion will be paid out in tranches as macro-financial aid in loans, and 1.8 billion will be made available for investments.
According to estimates, there are around six to seven million intra-African refugees living in Egypt alone (mainly from Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea), but officially the numbers are far lower. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered almost 500,000 people with recognized refugee status. Recently, the number of migrants who want to cross from Libya to Greece and thus to the EU has also been increasing.
- HONEY: Migration agreement between the EU and Egypt
New refugee routes
The Greek government recently expressed concern regarding the increasing arrivals of migrants of Egyptian origin. They are using a new refugee route that leads from the Libyan Mediterranean port of Tobruk towards the island of Crete. This year, the UNHCR has already registered more than 1,000 people who arrived on the island of Gavdos off Crete from Tobruk. Most of them reportedly come from Egypt.
“The security of Europe depends largely on the security of our neighbors,” Nehammer said. Egypt is the most important stability factor in North Africa and a reliable partner in curbing illegal migration. “I have therefore been campaigning for effective agreements for years, especially with partners in North Africa, to prevent illegal migration to the EU and Austria and to create stability, economic prospects and security locally.
Egypt’s economic situation is threatening to deteriorate due to the conflicts in Ukraine (increased grain prices), Sudan and the Gaza Strip, which in turn might increase migration numbers to Europe.
A key focus in the EU-Egypt deal is to be placed on supporting the accommodation of migrants on site. But the areas of “economy, trade and investment, security and the fight once morest terrorism, as well as demography and human capital” are also included.
Strategic partnership
The aim of the pact is also “a comprehensive and strategic partnership between the EU and Egypt with the aim of security and stability on the ground.” The joint declaration planned for signing on this comprehensive agreement is seen as an “important step” in raising the EU’s relations with Egypt to the level of a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. For this purpose, joint meetings at the highest level are planned every two years in the future,
The plan is to provide “support in various areas such as renewable energies, green hydrogen, industrialization, digitalization, agriculture and water supply.” The EU plans to generate investments of up to nine billion euros by 2027 through the European Fund for Sustainable Development, European financial institutions and EU member states.
Holistic approach
A “holistic approach” is sought in migration issues. These include “supporting legal migration routes” and “expanding mobility programs” such as “Talent Partnerships”. In addition, programs for “cooperation to combat the causes of irregular migration” and “strengthening border management” or “anti-smuggling” as well as for promoting returns (“voluntary and forced”) including reintegration should be strengthened. Negotiations on “effective readmission cooperation” are also currently underway at the bilateral level.
Nehammer had already met Egypt’s president in Cairo in April of the previous year. In addition to the bilateral repatriation agreement, which is currently being finalized, the Chancellor also took the initiative for a strategic partnership agreement between the EU and Egypt and then deepened this through discussions with the Commission President, according to the Federal Chancellery. The stability of Egypt is “clearly in the European interest.”
Similar agreements have already been concluded with Mauritania and Turkey. As well as with Tunisia. Last year, the EU Commission promised financial aid worth up to 900 million euros to the economically stricken country in North Africa. In return, Tunisia should take greater action once morest smugglers and illegal crossings in order to reduce the number of people leaving for Europe.
Italy in particular was pushing for an agreement at the time to stop the migrant boats leaving Tunisia early on their way to southern Italy and thus to the European Union. As a result, disputes arose between Tunis and Brussels regarding the actual payment.
The deal also met with criticism. It is “not sustainable at all,” criticized migration researcher Judith Kohlenberger in an APA interview in July 2023. “You pay a lot of tax money for Tunisia to do the dirty work for the EU.” Brussels is making itself open to blackmail. The planned agreement with Egypt is also viewed with suspicion by NGO representatives and migration experts. Refugee organizations believe that human rights are not being protected. As a result, migrants would simply resort to “more dangerous routes” when fleeing.
