EU and Egypt Sign 80 Million Euro Illegal Migration Deal

The European Union and the government of Egypt have signed a new 80 million euro deal to halt illegal migration as the number of Egyptians entering Europe illegally has soared in the last year.

The 80 million euro (£68.7 million/$78.9 million) deal was announced last weekend by the European Union, with the funding going toward preventing people smuggling on the border of Egypt and will allow the country’s government to buy thermal cameras and other security equipment.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) official Laurent de Boeck, who heads the IOM Egyptian office, added that some of the cash would also finance the purchase of four search and rescue boats, the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.

According to the website, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi signed the first part of the agreement during a visit to Egypt’s capital Cairo which will cover around a quarter of the proposed total funding.

Egypt is also the beneficiary of another agreement under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, a 2015 agreement which has already spent around 900 million euros to combat illegal immigration in North Africa.

While migrant boats departing from the Egyptian coast to Europe are relatively rare this year, the number of Egyptian nationals arriving in Europe from other North African states, such as Libya, has surged according to statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR.

Egyptians have accounted for 22.2 per cent, or over one in five, migrants arriving illegally into Italy this year, with nearly 16,000 Egyptians arriving since the start of the year, and are the most common nationality among illegals arriving in Italy, followed by Tunisians and Bangladeshis.

Italy has seen a surge of migrant arrivals this year overall, with the UNHCR reporting that as of October 30th over 83,000 illegals have arrived in the country.

The new government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to stem the number of illegal arrivals, with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi already looking to halt the activities of migrant taxi NGO vessels.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.