After agreements with Tunisia and Mauritania, the European Union now looks to Egypt, a pivotal country in a region as unstable as the Middle East, and will offer on Sunday a strategic and global partnership tied to about 7.4 billion euros. The aim is to support political and economic stability, bolster security, and curb irregular migration through enhanced border control.
Ahead of the delegation is the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, traveling with Belgium’s prime minister and rotating Council president, Alexander De Croo, and the leaders of Italy and Greece, Giorgia Meloni and Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The four European leaders will meet in Cairo with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
“The European Union recognizes Egypt as a reliable partner and acknowledges the country’s unique geostrategic role as a pillar of security, moderation, and peace in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa”, reads a draft declaration accessed by El Periodico de Catalunya, part of the Prensa Ibérica group.
Following Tunisia
[This marks the second visit by Von der Leyen to Egypt since November 2023. Since then, talks have intensified with the aim of echoing the Tunisia strategy, which saw a memoranda of understanding signed last year. That accord drew criticism from NGOs, the European Ombudsman, and some political groups who argued Brussels outsourced migration management. The future deal with Egypt is not exempt from criticism either.]
“Von der Leyen’s plan to engage with Al Sisi in Egypt to reach a migration agreement is seen as a blow to asylum rights in the EU”, said a German MEP from Die Linke, Martin Schirdewan, reporting from Strasbourg. He argued that offering cash to a regime to stop desperate people from fleeing is morally broken. Amnesty International echoed similar concerns this week ahead of the trip.
“Egyptian authorities routinely detain refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in harsh, inhumane conditions and deport them illegally without due process or a real chance to apply for asylum, risking grave human rights violations in the destinations they reach”, warned Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s EU office.
Six areas of interest
The agreement centers on aligning human rights with democracy, freedoms, gender equality, and fundamental rights, framed around six mutual areas: political relations, economic stability, investments, trade, water issues, immigration and mobility, security, demographics, and human capital.
“To make cooperation advance the human rights agenda in Egypt, EU leaders must insist on clear benchmarks for rights protections, notably ending media censorship, reversing the repression of civil society, and freeing all arbitrarily detained peaceful rights advocates”, Geddie stated. [Source: Amnesty International, attribution noted in the cited briefing.]
According to recently leaked figures, the EU plans a package of 7.4 billion euros to complement funding from the International Monetary Fund and other actors. Europeans intend to provide the necessary financial support to help Egypt expand legal migration channels and mobility agreements, while also fighting irregular migration and human trafficking, strengthening border management, and ensuring dignified returns and sustainable reintegration. The draft notes that changes may still occur.