Analysis: The EU's big bet on Egypt comes with a high price and high risks

After Tunisia and Mauritania, the European Union has found a new "strategic" partner to curb irregular migration: Egypt.

Transcript

00:00 NGOs and activists are concerned about the EU's deal with Egypt. The bloc is willing

00:07 to provide 7.4 billion euros in financial support in return for Cairo doing more to

00:13 curb immigration. But critics say the EU is turning a blind eye to human rights abuses

00:18 in Egypt.

00:22 There are many issues that need to be dealt with that require that we work with Egypt.

00:31 We cannot pretend that this country does not exist, nor can we simply ignore it. We work

00:40 well with Egypt. Let me remind you that the overwhelming share of the aid that we send

00:47 to Gaza transits through Egypt.

00:54 Experts say Egypt is in a miserable economic situation and needs urgent help fixing its

00:59 problems.

01:07 NGOs say it's alarming that the EU is financing an authoritarian regime and the conditions

01:13 around how to use the budget are unclear.

01:19 If there are no clear conditions in the implementation of the political agenda, but also on the structural

01:39 and economic aspects of the political agenda, the EU will not be able to achieve its goals.

01:55 There are no direct migrant departures towards Europe from Egypt, so this deal is more preventative

02:01 in nature, aimed at maintaining a stable situation around Egypt's borders.

02:06 [WHOOSH]