European Union declares aid package worth US$8 billion for Egypt

The European Union has stated its intention to offer Egypt 7.4 billion euros to help with its money problems. They are worried that problems in nearby countries could cause more people to come to Europe, so they want to help Egypt to prevent this.

The agreement was signed on Sunday in Cairo by the Egyptian President and the President of the European Commission. People were not happy about it because of Egypt’s human rights record. Leaders from Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus, and Greece came to the ceremony.

“Your visit today was a very important step in the relationship between Egypt and the European Union,” el-Sissi told European leaders who came to visit. He said the deal has changed our partnership a lot.

The aid package will give money to the most populous country in the Arab world for the next three years. It includes both gifts and money that will need to be paid back. This information comes from the EU’s mission in Cairo. Most of the money, which is about five billion euros (US$5. 4 billion), is financial help for the country, says a document from the EU mission in Egypt.

The mission said that both sides have increased their cooperation to the level of a “strategic and comprehensive partnership,” which will lead to more collaboration between Egypt and the EU in different economic and non-economic areas.

“The European Union agrees that Egypt is a good partner and plays an important role in keeping the peace and security in the Mediterranean, Near East, and African region,” a statement said after the meeting.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the deal as “very important” because Italy was a big part of making it happen.

“This initiative demonstrates our desire to improve and support a new way for both sides of the Mediterranean to work together,” she said at the meeting between Egypt and the European Union in Cairo.

The Joint Declaration, also known as the deal, wants to encourage democracy, freedom, human rights, and equality between men and women. This is what the European Commission says. Both sides will work together more to deal with problems involving migration and terrorism.

The EU will help Egypt’s government make its borders stronger, especially with Libya. Many people from Africa and the Middle East come to Libya and then try to cross into Egypt because they are running away from poverty and war. The 27 countries will help the government host Sudanese people who have run away from a year of fighting between rival generals in their country. Egypt has welcomed over 460,000 people from Sudan since April of last year.

The agreement is happening because people are worried that Israel might attack Gaza’s town called Rafah. This could make a lot of people move to Egypt. The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for six months and has led to over one million people seeking refuge in Rafah.

Egypt has nine million people from other countries living there. About 480,000 of them have officially asked for protection as refugees or asylum-seekers. Many of those people who moved to a new place have started their own businesses, and some work in the informal economy as street vendors or house cleaners.

For many years, Egypt has been a safe place for people from sub-Saharan Africa who are running away from war or being poor. Egypt is a popular place for some people because it’s the closest and easiest country for them to get to. For some people, it’s a stopping place before they try to cross the dangerous Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

Although the Egyptian coast is not used often by human traffickers to send crowded boats to Europe, Egypt still deals with migration from the area. There is also concern that the Israel-Hamas war could impact Egypt.

The agreement will give a lot of money to Egypt’s economy, which has been struggling because the government has been cutting back on spending, the coronavirus, the effects of Russia invading Ukraine, and the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Earlier this month, Egypt agreed with the International Monetary Fund to get more money as a loan. The loan went from $3 billion to $8 billion after long talks. The IMF agreement involved making changes to the economy, like letting the value of the Egyptian pound go up and raising the main interest rate by a lot.

The EU agreement is similar to deals with Tunisia and Mauritania. They promised to strengthen their borders in exchange for money. Tunisia and Mauritania were important places where migrants started their journey across the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to Italy and Spain. People also criticized them for mistreating migrants.

International human rights groups criticized the package because of Egypt’s record on human rights. Amnesty International asked European leaders not to help with human rights abuses in Egypt.

“Eve Geddie, who works for Amnesty International in Europe, said that EU leaders need to make sure the Egyptian government sets clear goals for protecting human rights. ” Geddie said that Egypt is not letting people speak freely in the media and is stopping people from expressing themselves. They are also trying to control what civil society does.

When asked if these deals were right or wrong, a spokesperson for the European Commission said there were problems in these countries but still supported the partnerships.

“Yes, we are aware of the criticism about human rights in those countries and it’s clear that this is a problem,” he told the journalists.

“Should we stop talking to those countries. Will it make things better. Or should we try to work with them to make things better for people living there and for migrants coming to those countries. ” he asked