EU billion contract with Lebanon to contain migrants

According to the report of the international group Tasnim News Agency, quoted by the weekly newspaper “Spiegel”, in order to To prevent the influx of refugees from Syria who are currently living in Lebanon, the European Union Commission has promised this country a financial aid worth about one billion euros. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union Commission, announced yesterday in Beirut after talks with Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister of Lebanon and Nicos Christodoulidis, the President of Cyprus, that this money will be available from this year until 2027.

He announced that they count on good cooperation in preventing illegal immigration and fighting smuggling crimes. In order to support the country in managing migration, the European Union has pledged to keep open legal routes to Europe and to resettle refugees from Lebanon to the EU.

This money also goes to support the armed forces. Lebanon and other security forces will be used. “This is primarily about providing equipment and training for the border administration,” von der Leyen said. In addition, the aid is intended to strengthen the health, education and social systems in Lebanon.

The Cypriot government has particularly recently criticized the growing number of Syrian refugees from Lebanon and called for action by the European Union. Around 4,000 migrants have been counted since the start of the year – up from just 78 in the first quarter of last year.

Recently, the European Union also signed a €7.4 billion partnership deal in March in line with its anti-immigration policies. It has signed an agreement with Cairo, according to which Egypt will limit illegal immigration to Europe in exchange for EU aid. The models for this agreement are the controversial immigration and economic agreements with Türkiye and more recently with Tunisia and Mauritania. There are strong criticisms from refugee organizations to such EU agreements.

The head of the European Commission also promised to pay attention to how to make EU aid more efficient, including by facilitating a more structured approach to the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanon is home to about 210,000 Palestinians and 1.5 million Syrian refugees. This raises concerns that instability in the region could lead to a wave of migrants heading towards Europe through the island of Cyprus. Cypriot President Christodoulides has asked EU leaders to re-evaluate the so-called zones. to review security in Syria in order to facilitate the return of migrants and refugees.

Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s interim prime minister, thanked Christodoulides for mediating the agreement on Thursday and acknowledged: “The problems seen on the Cyprus border It is just one example of what can happen if this problem is not addressed.”

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