Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission

18.11.2022

The current project pipeline on migration cooperation with Egypt amounts to EUR 160 million, out of which substantial support will be provided for border surveillance, search, and rescue at land and sea by the Egyptian border authorities.

The aim will be to enhance Egypt’s capacity to save lives of migrants stranded at sea and in the desert and address the irregular migration flows towards Europe.

It will be the first Commission cooperation actions in the area of border management with Egypt. Moreover, the Commission has allocated substantial support to the Egyptian authorities for the protection of migrants and refugees.

In addition, Egypt will also benefit from multi-country actions for returns and reintegration, legal migration, support to cross-border cooperation and international police cooperation against migration smuggling in North Africa. The specific amounts are still to be determined for these actions.

Lastly, under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa — North Africa Window[1], Egypt currently benefits with a total of nearly EUR 91 million in bilateral and regional actions, including the bilateral package of EUR 60 million for ‘Enhancing the response to Migration Challenges in Egypt’.

• [1] https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/region/north-africa_en