Diplomacy. A partnership agreement worth 7.4 billion euros will be signed between the EU and Egypt

The European Union (EU) will sign on Sunday a partnership agreement for 7.4 billion euros with Egypt, plunged into its worst economic crisis, mainly loans spread out until 2027, but also aid and investments, said a European official.

The agreement includes “five billion euros in loans, including one billion paid before the end of 2024, 1.8 billion in investments, 400 million in aid for bilateral projects and 200 million in aid for programs addressing the issues migration,” detailed this senior European Commission official on condition of anonymity.

This agreement will be signed in Cairo between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenalongside five European heads of state and governments.

Cooperation in several areas

The EU wants to “cooperate in the areas of energy, more particularly in the field of liquefied natural gas, to move further away from Russian gas,” said the European official.

The EU also wants to work with Egypt on “security, counter-terrorism and border protection, particularly the southern border”, given that “Egypt is under even more pressure from Sudan” at war for almost a year.

The migration aspect of the agreement is of the same type as that signed in July with Tunisia: the Europeans expect the countries of origin or transit of migrants to stop departures and to readmit their nationals in an irregular situation in the EU.