Egypt

Relations between the EU and Egypt are based on the Association Agreement, which entered into force in June 2004. They have intensified over the past years to cover a wide spectrum of fields of intervention.

The new Partnership Priorities adopted at the ninth meeting of the Association Council of the EU and Egypt in June 2022 guide the relationship for the period 2021-2027 to further deepen dialogue and cooperation around three overarching priorities:

• Sustainable Modern Economy and Social Development;
• Partnering in Foreign Policy, and
• Enhancing Stability.

On 17 March 2024, building on the Association Agreement concluded in 2004 and the Partnership Priorities agreed in 2022,  the EU and Egypt have signed a Joint Declaration launching a new Strategic and Comprehensive partnership allowing to untap the enormous potential of the relationship across all spheres of mutual interest.  The partnership covers 6 main joint priorities: Political relations; Economic stability; Trade and sustainable investments; Migration and mobility; Security; People and skills. To underpin this partnership, the EU is proposing a substantial financial support package for Egypt worth €7.4 billion for 2024-2027 with:

• Proposal for €5 billion in concessional loans (macro-financial assistance)
• €1.8 billion of additional investments, under the Southern Neighborhood Economic and Investment Plan
• €600 million in additional grants, including €200 million for migration management

The European Union (EU) cooperates with Egypt in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). On 9 February 2021, the European Commission adopted a Joint Communication on the renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood, establishing a new Agenda for the Mediterranean to relaunch and reinforce the EU’s partnership with the region. It will guide EU policy and programming towards Egypt for the coming years.

The Joint Communication is accompanied by an Economic and Investment Plan for the Southern Neighbours to ensure amongst others that the quality of life for people in the region improves and the economic recovery leaves no one behind.

EU assistance to Egypt is funded mainly through the new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) for the period 2021-2027. The instrument’s approach includes grant funding as well as blending grants with loans from European and International Financing Institutions.

The European Union’s cooperation framework with Egypt is the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for the period 2021-2027, based on the new Partnership Priorities, to support Egypt in the areas of:

• green and sustainable development;
• human development, economic resilience and prosperity building through green and digital transition; and
• social cohesion, and the development of a modern and democratic state.

For the first period of the MIP 2021-2023, €206 million have been allocated for EU bilateral cooperation with Egypt.

The NDICI instruments replaces the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) under which the EU's bilateral assistance to Egypt for the period 2014 – 2020 amounted to €756 million.

Under the EU External Investment Plan, preceding the Economic and Investment Plan, and the blending mechanism of the Neighbourhood Investment Platform (NIP), Egypt has benefited from over €650 million in blending grants, which have leveraged approximately €8 billion since 2008, in concessional loans from European Financial Institutions combined with public and private sector financing.

Under the new NDICI instrument, an increased accent on blending EU grants with loans from European and International Financing Institutions will allow partner counties to unlock substantial levels of concessional funding for investments. The new system of guarantees provided for under the NDICI will give access to additional funds from the crowding-in of both public and private investors. Relevant flagship initiatives for Egypt under the Economic and Investment Plan will include (1) support to the development of sustainable public transport infrastructure, (2) support to Egypt’s transition to a green economy, including support to universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services, increasing the share of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency, (3) support to water sector including improvement of water efficiency and waste management.

Egypt benefits from bilateral and regional funding under the North of Africa window of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF Africa) supporting efforts in enhancing migration management, addressing the roots causes of irregular migration and sustaining local communities hosting refugees. Ongoing projects in Egypt totalling €90 million include a €60 million package for “Enhancing the Response to Migration Challenges in Egypt- ERMCE”, and €30 million for regional actions on security, labour mobility, asylum, support to children and family refugees.

The EU will continue to support Egypt on migration management under the NDICI instrument, addressing the root causes of irregular migration and alternatives to irregular migration, border management, combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, ensuring dignified and sustainable return and reintegration (including reintegration of Egyptian nationals), protecting the rights of migrants and refugees (including support to Sudanese refugees), and labour migration and mobility. So far, €181 million have been adopted for Egypt.

In addition to bilateral cooperation, Egypt benefited from regional and Neighbourhood-wide cooperation programmes in sectors of the environment, sustainable development, renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change, private sector development, including facilities to provide access to finance for SMEs and innovative start-ups, support to civil society and independent media, support for security cooperation in areas such as combatting organised crime and terrorism, migration and inter-regional cooperation.

Under the EU twinning tool, the Egyptian public administration partnered with European administrations for mutual learning and capacity building through sharing of EU best practices, through twinning projects in the sectors of finance, internal market and economic criteria, standardisation and certification, trade and industry and transport. Egypt also benefited from TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument) that supported public administration reforms with 120 events in 2016-2023.

Click on the banner below to find out about our activities in Egypt through our EU-funded regional communication Programme EU NEIGHBOURS South, designed to create awareness about the European Union in the Southern Neighbourhood region.

The EU has mobilized €37.9 million of humanitarian assistance for refugees and asylum seekers and the host communities in Egypt since 2015, including €5 million in 2023.

Egypt participates to Erasmus+ which supports the modernisation of the higher education sector and promotes mobility and cooperation with EU higher education institutions. Under the Erasmus+ programme, 4,489 Egyptian students, professors and university staff travelled to Europe and 2,230 European counterparts travelled to Egypt between 2015 and 2022

Egypt also benefits from additional EU thematic programmes and instruments:

• The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights: almost €10 million in 2021-2024
• The Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP)
• The Development Cooperation Instrument and its programme ‘Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities’
• The programme Migration and Asylum
• Horizon 2020: By 2023, Egypt will have participated in 59 Horizon 2020 projects.
• PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area) programme

Factsheets available to download