The European Union hopes to find in the Egyptian el-Sisi regime a new ally to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. But what is behind the Brussels-Cairo talks on migration? NGOs are concerned that new arrangements, following the example of the EU-Turkey agreement, could help legitimise the violation of human rights.
The EU wishes to deepen its collaboration with Egypt in an attempt to curb migrant flows. After Cairo reportedly cracked down on human traffickers and stopped boats from leaving for Europe, EU leaders stepped up talks with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to explore paths towards an EU-Egypt collaboration.
Yet, the direction of this renewed dialogue and the details of what a potential agreement would entail are still unknown.
Questioned by Euranet Plus, the European Commission explained that its cooperation with Cairo is “multidimensional.”
In 2017, the EU granted 60 million euros to Egypt through a programme aimed at “enhancing the country’s response to migration challenges.”
According to an EU spokesperson, the ongoing dialogue “covers all migration-related issues, in a comprehensive and balanced way, from the fight against smuggling and trafficking to the protection of asylum seekers and refugees, to the promotion of legal channels of migration and mobility and the prevention of irregular migration.”
Why Egypt?
According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), Egypt’s northern border has not recorded any boat departures to Europe last year. Thus, in the EU the Egyptian migration management is seen as a model for the region.
For Anwar Sadat, an opposition politician and president of the Egyptian Reform and Development Party, this success has much to do with the strong role played by the Egyptian military in controlling borders.
Mohamed Anwar el Sadat, President of the Egyptian Reform and Development Party
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“Egypt does have these means because we have a big army and we have coastguards. So, actually, we have these means to control our coasts. Egypt is not Libya. Egypt is different. It is not a big problem for us to make sure that nothing goes out or even comes in because we care about all this terrorist fighters.”
Border control, development aid and visas are potential topics for discussion between Brussels and Cairo.
Sadat believes that there is an opportunity to negotiate working visas for migrants who would have followed EU-financed training programmes in Egypt.
Mohamed Anwar el Sadat, President of the Egyptian Reform and Development Party
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“We could make centres for training for some of those labourers, workers whom Europe needs. So, there could be different things in engineering, mechanics, electricians. So, once they are spending six months or one year, once they are ready, they could be granted a chance to go to Europe.”
However, other observers, like former EU ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, James Moran, doubt that legal migration is on the negotiation table.
James Moran, former EU ambassador to Egypt and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“I think we are talking about measures which would have more to do with controlling, managing current illegal or irregular migration. I don’t see that much on the legal migration side in terms of opportunities offered to migrants. There has been no mention of that. I would be very surprised frankly under these circumstances if there were, because that’s something which has been in discussion for a long, long time and we have gotten nowhere.”
ECRE: EU prioritises migration control over democratic reforms
The opacity of the current talks between the EU and Egypt raises concerns among human rights organisations.
For Catherine Woollard, secretary general of the European Council of Refugees and Exile (ECRE), there is a “deliberate ambiguity” in the talks the EU is currently having with Egypt.
Catherine Woollard, Secretary General of the European Council of Refugees and Exile (ECRE)
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“We see agreements with different countries that are made in an informal way and sometimes they are not even in a document, never mind in a legal agreement. This is done deliberately in order to prevent scrutiny from parliaments, including the European Parliament, which has to be involved in international agreements that the EU makes. But it is also done in order to avoid oversight and legal challenge which would happen if you have a more formal type of agreement.”
Woollard referred to the EU-Turkey deal on migration. This agreement has been designed to be something that cannot be legally challenged, she added.
Amnesty International’s last report on Egypt described the country as “an open-air jail for dissidents”. ECRE criticises the EU for now offering this authoritarian government immunity in exchange for stopping migrants to reach European coasts.
Catherine Woollard, Secretary General of the European Council of Refugees and Exile (ECRE)
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“What we see with this kind of agreements: it gives immunity to those leaders to carry on as they wish within their own countries. Because the EU is so desperate to deal with them in order to prevent migration that they turn a blind eye and ignore what is happening domestically. This is of course what we have seen happen in Turkey.”
Following Woollard, the EU’s approach is currently to prioritise migration control over other objectives, such as supporting democratic reform, which used to be at the centre of Europe’s foreign policy.
Catherine Woollard, Secretary General of the European Council of Refugees and Exile (ECRE)
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“In the case of Egypt, we see a significant crackdown in the last couple of years on journalists, on civil society, on opposition of all types. And also a questionable arriving at power from el-Sisi at the very beginning. It is quite clear that el-Sisi is playing the migration game. He understands how desperate Europe is to try and prevent people from arriving in Europe and he is willing to exploit that.”
It might be risky for the EU to make a deal with leaders like el-Sisi, Woollard added. He could later threaten the EU to allow migrants to leave the country in exchange for more concessions and promises.
First EU-Arab Summit ever
According to the European Commission, “the next step for discussions” on the migration agenda with Egypt could be the first ever EU-Arab League summit to be held in Cairo on February 2019.
However, James Moran is sceptical the event could bring meaningful outcomes because, according to him, EU countries want to focus exclusively on the migration issue, while the Arabs counterparts have different priorities.
James Moran, former EU ambassador to Egypt and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“I wouldn’t expect a great breakthrough, perhaps a better understanding between the two sides on the issue. We could expect that, but at this point, I do not see a great breakthrough or such. There might be more money on the table offered, I guess, through the Trust Fund.”
- Author: Natalia Segura, Euranet Plus News Agency
