EU to back Egypt with large loans aimed at curbing migration

The European Union is to provide Egypt with financial assistance in the form of loans and grants to the amount of €7.4 billion ($8.1 billion) up to the end of 2027, the European Commission announced on Sunday in Cairo.

The partnership is to include further collaboration on stemming irregular migration, as well as economic and political cooperation, it said at a top-level meeting of EU representatives with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi.

In addition to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, several other EU officials were expected to attend the meeting in Cairo.

Of the €7.4 billion, €5 billion is earmarked for loans and €1.8 billion for investment in food security and digitalization.

The remaining €600 million will be in the form of subsidies, with €200 million going to manage migration.

Von der Leyen has long called for closer cooperation with Egypt, noting in October last year that the country is taking in a growing number of refugees and that the EU has a responsibility to assist.

Egypt had a key role in the region's security and stability, and setting up a strategic and mutually beneficial partnership, should be a priority, she told EU heads of state and government.

Apart from von der Leyen, the EU delegation includes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Greece has expressed concern over increasing arrivals in its waters of Egyptian migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Crete from Tobruk in Libya.

UN authorities have recorded more than 1,000 people arriving in Crete and the nearby island of Gavdos, most of them from Egypt.

EU diplomats emphasize that curbing migration is just one of several aspects in the partnership. Diplomatic sources refer to the need to limit Russian and Chinese influence in Egypt.

They point to the construction of a nuclear power plant at El Dabaa to the west of Alexandria by Russia and large investments by China, which ships most of its exports to Europe through the Suez Canal.