On March 17, in a visit to Egypt, several European leaders finalized an economic and migration pact worth €7.4bn with Egypt. From one perspective this strategic partnership may assist in averting a new European migration crisis, and from another it construes a needed boost to Egypt’s strapped economy says Azza Radwan Sedky.
The pact is vitally valuable to Europe as a whole, which is why six EU leaders made the trip to Cairo: European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Austria Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides. “The presence of six European leaders today shows how deeply we value our relationship. We share our strategic interests in stability and prosperity,” Von Der Leyen said to President El Sisi.
The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership involves €5bn in soft loans to support economic changes, €1.8bn to support investments from the private sector and €600m in grants with €200m reserved for managing migration.
The illegal migrant flow to Europe has been a dire issue for many years climaxing in 2015 when over 1.3 million asylum seekers, illegal migrants, and refugees sought Europe as a haven. Today another migration crisis is about to transpire as migration from North Africa to Europe, again, is on the rise. This is particularly true from Libya and Tunisia to Italy, which is the reason behind the Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s involvement in the pact with Egypt.
So, the EU upped its efforts to tackle the migration problem. Earlier, it had signed similar, though not as expansive, deals with Tunisia (€700 million) and Mauritania (€210 million). The goal of all the pacts is to curb illegal migration from North Africa to Europe by injecting liquidity, and, hopefully, opportunities in life, for those hard hit by economic crises and ultimately seek refuge in Europe.
As a stemming technique, financially supporting regions which act as doorways to migration outdoes border control methods since most borders are long, porous, and penetrable. Such deals are "the best way to address migratory flows," said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She also said that the best way to persuade people in the south not to emigrate to Europe was to reaffirm their rights in the African continent and to help develop their economies. “It is exactly what we’re doing today,” she said.
Furthermore, the migration crisis is causing a political backlash in Europe with far-right wings calling for more stringent averting methods. The Wall Street Journal confirms that anti-immigration parties are winning elections and surging in polls. In fact, this February, the EU approved a migration law that will see thousands of illegal migrants and asylum seekers, including children, locked up. Improving the status of potential migrants, in their own countries, is a more humane solution to an ongoing crisis.
Egypt plays a strategic role in curbing migration to Europe. Along the years, migration from Egypt has fallen sharply as Egypt managed to shut off irregular migration from its shores. However, Egypt has become a crossing destination for migrants from Africa and elsewhere who transit to libya via Egypt. Bearing in mind that Egypt hosts approximately 9 million international migrants and around 480,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers of whom many utilize that route to Europe, it is essential to consider Egypt's role in curbing the migration influx.
In addition, there has been a surge in Egyptian nationals trying to cross to Europe via Libya. Young disenfranchised Egyptian men are opting to cross the Mediterranean to secure a better life in Europe. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that in January 2022, there were 117,000 Egyptian migrants in Libya, many of which were hoping to make their way to Europe. And in 2023, 7 percent of all illegal migrants to Europe were Egyptian.
From another perspective, the pact with Egypt has strong economic upshots for Egypt. "The current crises in Egypt and the region have exacerbated Egypt's financing needs, with a substantial overall financing gap in the upcoming fiscal year," says European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen. She also said, “And given your political and economic weight as well as your strategic location in a very troubled neighbourhood, the importance of our relations will only increase over time.”
Due to many crises, Egypt has seen economic hardships balloon. From the Ukraine War which disrupted the flow of wheat causing prices to rise almost 50 percent and pushed food prices to record high, to the war on Gaza, which eventually led to the Houthi attacks on ships heading to the Suez Canal causing a 40 to 50 percent drop in revenues amounting to $10 billion. Many other issues have overburdened the Egyptian economy.
Consequently, Egypt had to devalue its currency three times since 2022. The scarcity of hard currency has added to the woes as Egypt struggles to pay its debts and pay for essential products. The EU pact, as it assists in stabilizing Egypt’s economy, may alleviate the pressure.
Undoubtedly Egypt’s stability is crucial to the stability of the region, and if the region is stable, fewer migrants would consider heading to Europe.
For once, the European Union is taking pre-emptive steps to avoid a crisis.
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