Egyptian headache in Athens and EU
Concerns mount over fears of increased migratory flows and internal pressure on President Sisi
Athens has described forthcoming EU support for Egypt with a generous €7.4 billion package to manage migration as “vital” for the wider region.
The Greek government’s concern about the situation in Egypt stems from two major reasons. For starters, an increase in flows to Crete of migrants who are already on Egyptian soil or who may arrive as a result of the dreadful situation in Gaza. Second, Cairo’s economy is being strained by the situation in Suez and the predicted drop in tourism earnings.
Any further hardship on the Egyptian economy might shock Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s government, which has forged a strategic alliance with Greece. Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be among the leaders visiting Cairo on Sunday – together with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the premiers of Italy and Belgium, Georgia Meloni and Alexander De Croo respectively – where they will formalize the EU-Egypt agreement.
According to government sources, the agreement is “something particularly important.”
There are millions of refugees in Egypt – no one can say how many for sure – and with widespread destabilization the flows to Greece could increase dramatically via Libya.
Government sources told Kathimerini that while the migration front with Turkey is “going well,” a new and more difficult one cannot be opened, as migration flows in the open Libyan Sea require a different approach to those in the Aegean. Furthermore, Athens is wary of the situation in Suez.
At the moment Egypt’s already weak economy has been hit by a 60% reduction in commercial shipping traffic in the Suez Canal, which is also reflected in the reduction in commercial traffic at Piraeus. If Egypt continues to be pressured economically, additional migration flows may be fueled.
The internal political situation in Egypt is also a worry for Athens as President Sisi has been a stable ally in the region. However, the situation he faces is anything but easy. The dramatic consequences on the Egyptian economy and the rapid decline of tourism in the country, as most people consider Egypt to be in a broader “war zone,” make the situation very difficult.
The possibility that Sisi’s opponents, hardline Islamists and close interlocutors of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will come to power is a scenario dreaded by Athens. “The support of President Sisi is a key issue for us,” a government source told Kathimerini.
