EU sidelines parliament to rapidly send €1bn to Egypt

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, in a letter dated 15 March and seen by EUobserver, explains that the immediate need to send the money to Cairo necessitates skipping the assembly.

She has invoked article 213 in the EU treaty, enabling the European Commission to proceed independently.

Von der Leyen writes to European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, stating, “For reasons of utmost urgency and highly exceptionally, the recourse to of Article 213 TFEU is considered as appropriate legal basis for the first operation of EUR 1 billion.”

The €1bn is part of €5bn in macro-financial assistance (MFAs) that typically require European Parliament approval.

However, the European Commission argues that Egypt urgently needs funds and the standard parliamentary scrutiny process would be too time-consuming.

“The current crises in Egypt and the region have exacerbated Egypt’s financing needs, with a substantial overall financing gap in the upcoming fiscal year,” Von der Leyen notes in her letter.

She commits to involving the European Parliament in the remaining €4bn in MFAs.

Nevertheless, critical MEPs are unlikely to be appeased, particularly after feeling ignored by the European Commission in a similar agreement with Tunisia last summer.

Furthermore, doubts arise over the urgency rationale as Egypt recently secured a separate €35bn investment deal from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and expanded IMF loans amounting to $8bn.

Egypt’s external debt has surged in the past two years, including significant amounts owed to Russia for the Dabaa nuclear power plant construction.

Critics caution that EU funds and loans may inadvertently support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s authoritarian regime.

Human Rights Watch accuses his government of orchestrating the massacre of protestors and the imprisonment and torture of numerous dissidents.

Despite these concerns, Egypt is home to millions of international migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, with many passing through the country en route to Europe via Libya.