BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union will use an emergency funding procedure that bypasses parliamentary oversight and other safeguards to quickly provide some aid funds to Egypt, according to the head of the European Union's executive branch. He says he plans to.
The 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) earmarked for this is part of a larger 7.4 billion euro ($8 billion) financial aid package for the North African country that the EU announced on March 17. It is.
Egypt has long relied on cash handouts from wealthy Gulf Arab states amid growing concerns that economic pressures and regional conflicts could prompt more migration from the region to European shores.
The EU package includes three years of subsidies and preferential loans for the Arab world's most populous country. Most of the funding, 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion), is known as macro financial assistance (MFA) and will be paid directly to Egypt's central bank.
It is rare for the EU to circumvent safeguards, but European Parliament elections are scheduled for June 6-9, and if checks were to be implemented they would delay the delivery of funds.
With these polls in mind, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans for an “urgent MFA operation of up to €1 billion” against Egypt, in a letter to EU Parliament President Roberta Mezzola. It pointed out that the country's “economic and fiscal situation is rapidly deteriorating.” ”
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, comes ahead of the announcement of the agreement with Egypt.
Von der Leyen denounced the “huge economic impact of Russia's full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine, the wars in Gaza and Sudan, and the Houthi offensive in the Red Sea,” adding that it was “an essential There is,” he said. ensure that the “first significant contribution” reaches Egypt by the end of 2024.
To do so, the Commission will adopt a rarely used section of the EU Treaty, Article 213, which states that the 27 member states must approve the fund, but it is the EU's only democratically elected body. One Congress is not supposed to approve it.
This path was not taken even when the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020 and the EU bailed out governments from the Balkans to the Middle East. Kiev benefited a decade ago when Russia annexed Crimea and raised the price of natural gas, but the energy is not being used to keep Ukraine's war-ravaged economy afloat.
This emergency funding procedure not only eliminates the need for parliamentary oversight, but also avoids the requirement for an impact assessment of the effectiveness of the aid.
Von der Leyen said the remaining MFA of 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) to Egypt would be “fully committed” to the new parliament that will be formed after the EU elections, and that Cairo would implement “more comprehensive” reforms. He said it would be disbursed when an agreement is reached.
The deal also includes a €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) investment plan and a €600 million ($647 million) loan, of which at least €200 million ($217 million) will go to Egypt. The funds will be allocated to “migration management''.
The fast-track funding was badly needed by Egypt's economy, which has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and more recently, the Israeli-Hamas fallout. It will require an injection of funds. war in Gaza.
MFAs are typically targeted at governments in severe economic distress and aim to encourage them to introduce reforms. However, the committee acknowledged that Egypt is “late” in making policy changes and already has a “backlog of domestic reforms” to address.
Migration is a key driver of the EU-Egypt agreement. As in previous years, it will be an election issue in the EU, with mainstream parties hoping to keep numbers down in order to take campaign energy away from the far right.
The Cairo agreement comes just weeks after an agreement was signed with Mauritania, which includes funding to help strengthen border security in the country, a major transit hub for people traveling through Africa to Europe.
A more substantive deal was signed with Tunisia last July, extending the model Tunisia developed with Turkey in 2015 to deter migration to Europe.
Although Egypt's coast has not been a key jumping-off point for human traffickers to send ships full of people across the Mediterranean to Europe, Egypt faces migration pressure from the region and the Israeli-Hamas war has pushed its borders. Added to this is the immediate threat of potential spillover beyond the borders.
Asked by the Associated Press what conditions should be respected for Egypt to receive emergency funding, the commission said: “Relevant and achievable reform priorities, taking into account the corresponding period. You need to choose.”
The commission's website states that macrofinancial support must be “exceptional in nature” and that “respect for human rights and effective democratic mechanisms is a precondition for the granting of an MFA.”
Amnesty International has called on the EU to put rights violations at the heart of its relationship with Egypt, and the commission acknowledges that “human rights challenges in Egypt remain serious”.
Nevertheless, the EU executive insists that “Egypt's political leadership has taken several steps in recent years to place greater emphasis on respecting human rights.”
Earlier this month, Egypt floated its currency and announced an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to increase relief loans from $3 billion to $8 billion, in a bid to rebuild an economy battered by staggering foreign exchange shortages and soaring inflation. moved to
Cairo's coffers will also be refilled with $35 billion from a major project involving an Emirati consortium to jointly develop the Mediterranean city of Ras el Hekma.
Since coming to power in 2013, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has relied heavily on Gulf Arab states, from which he has received an estimated $100 billion or more through central bank deposits, fuel aid and other support. is flowing into Egypt.
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