Anti-immigration agreement between the European Union and Egypt
| European Union officials on Sunday, despite many criticisms in Cairo, concluded an agreement to deal with the influx of migrants and in return promised billions of support to the Egyptian authorities. |
In this way, Egypt can hope for financial aid from the European Union worth about 7.4 billion euros until the end of 2027. The European Commission announced on the occasion of the high-level meeting of the representatives of the European Union with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt in Cairo, that this support in the form of loans and grants should be part of a new strategic partnership. According to official reports. Egyptian Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union Commission, wanted to sign this agreement with the heads of government of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus and Greece.
The purpose of this agreement is to prevent illegal immigration to Europe. The Greek government has been particularly concerned recently about a new refugee route from Tobruk in Libya to Crete. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has so far registered more than 1,000 people who have entered the country this year. Most of them are said to have come from Egypt.
At the same time, cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, trade and security between the parties will also improve, with grants, loans and other financial resources. A total of 7.4 billion euros will be made available over the next three years to support Egypt’s weak economy. Food and digitalization are considered. Therefore, 600 million euros should flow as grants, of which 200 million will be spent on migration management.
The models of this deal are the migration agreements of the European Union with Turkey and recently Tunisia and Mauritania. However, refugee organizations believe that the protection of human rights is not preserved in this agreement. However, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehmer and other European leaders such as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union Commission today. On Sunday, they signed the immigration agreement with Egypt. This country in North Africa fights against illegal immigration to Europe by strengthening border protection in exchange for 7.4 billion euros of economic aid. He welcomed the agreement.
Nahmer also described al-Sisi as a reliable helper in the effort to free the Austrian hostages in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Austrian official, the focus of the agreement is to support legal migration routes. And the fight against illegal immigration is through the strengthening of border management in Egypt and sustainable return.
Egypt is both a receiving country, a transit country, and a country of origin of about 8 million migrants. This country on the Nile River has practically closed its Mediterranean borders to smuggling organizations, but many Egyptians come to Europe through eastern Libya.
Nahamer said after the meeting in Cairo: “Only agreements are effective that be useful for both parties. This is exactly why this Egyptian agreement is necessary for European security and covers other important areas of cooperation in addition to migration.
The Chancellor of Austria also said: The Egyptian agreement is an important step, but In the fight against illegal immigration, we in the European Union must remove all obstacles, break taboos and take new paths. He added: The goal should be that asylum procedures can be carried out in safe third countries and deportation there.
This migration agreement has been concluded between the European Union and Egypt, which has received a lot of criticism from many people. Groups have entered it.
This migration and economic agreement planned between the European Union and Egypt has faced strong criticism from refugee organizations and migration experts. Carl Kopp, a Europe expert from the refugee organization ProAsylum in Germany, told the Funke media group newspapers on Sunday: “The EU’s policy of dealing with dictators is dirty, short-sighted and corrupt.” Before the conclusion of this agreement, Europe also said: the agreement that is supposed to be concluded and presented in Cairo on Sunday is reprehensible and naive in terms of content and morals. Deadly collaborations with authoritarian governments, where the rule of law, financial transparency and human rights do not play a role, are part of the problem and not the solution to eliminating the causes of migration. He, who is the head of the European section of ProAsylum, said: “The European Union systematically relies on the wrong partnerships to prevent the entry of migrants who seek protection.” The Egyptian government expects to do more to reduce migration to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. The European Commission is particularly interested in better securing the borders with Sudan and Libya. He called the migration deal a “slap in the face of asylum law” in the European Union. “Giving money to a military dictatorship to prevent desperate people from fleeing is morally bankrupt,” said Shirdavan, who also leads the left-wing parliamentary group in the European Parliament.
The Human Rights Watch has also strongly criticized this agreement and accused the European Union of “rewarding the oppressors”.
| © | Webangah News Hub has translated this news from the source of Tasnim News Agency |
