According to a statement from the EU delegation in Cairo, at a time when Egyptian immigration to Europe is rising, the EU and Egypt on Sunday inked an agreement relating to the first phase of a border control programme worth 80 million euros.
In accordance with a document released this month by the European Union Commission, the project seeks to provide funding for the purchase of monitoring tools like search and rescue ships, thermal cameras, and satellite location systems, as well as assistance to Egypt’s Border and Coast Guard in reducing illegal immigration and human trafficking on the border.
The illegal immigration of Europe from the northern coast of Egypt has witnessed a sharp decline since late 2016, but diplomats say that the migration of Egyptians across the vast desert border between Egypt and Libya and from the coast of Libya on the Mediterranean to Europe is increasing.
According to data for the Italian Ministry of Interior, 16,413 Egyptian immigrants landed in Italy by boat between January 1 and October 28 of this year, making them the second largest group after Tunisians.
The European Commission dossier states that in 2021, more than 26,500 Egyptians were detained at the Libyan border.
According to the document, regional instability, climate change, demographic changes, and the reduction in economic prospects will certainly cause Egypt to experience heavy immigrant flows over the medium to long term.
the project’s first phase agreement, which will cost 23 million euros, was signed in Cairo during the visit of Oliver Faraili, the Union’s Commissioner for European Neighborhood and Expansion Affairs.
The stage will be implemented by the organisation in collaboration with Sevipol, the Services and Consulting Association of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Lauren de Boyk, head of the International Immigration Organization office in Egypt. It is anticipated that this stage will include the provision of four search and rescue ships.
According to a document from the European Union Commission, Egypt deals with illegal immigration “frequently from a security viewpoint, and occasionally at the expense of other dimensions of the Immigration Department, including the protection of migrants, refugees, and asylum-based asylum seekers.
The initiative will aim to increase the Egyptian Ministry of Defense’s, government agencies’, and relevant civil society’s capacity to adhere to “rights-based curricula towards protection and takes into account the gender variations” in border management, according to the document.
An agreement to monitor Egypt’s borders in light of the rising migration through Libya is funded by Europe.
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