Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Egypt Christian Berger said on Friday 08/04/2022 the EU is working on finishing details of the €100-million grant, which Egypt will receive, in response to the surging food prices on the heels of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, expecting the details will be finalized within two weeks.
In statements to MENA, Berger stressed the importance of helping Egypt rapidly through this grant to overcome the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, noting that the €100-million grant is a part of the newly announced Food and Resilience Facility initiative worth €225 million to help eight Arab countries.
Regarding Egypt’s reform efforts, Berger hailed the Egyptian economic reform, pointing out that the IMF loan succeeded in supporting the private sector and luring more investments.
The EU has not decided how to deliver the grand to Egypt yet, according to Berger.
Egypt is at the forefront of countries in which the EU pumps investments, Berger mentioned, referring to the free trade agreement with Egypt. He stressed that Egypt is a very attractive country for foreign investments.
The EU ambassador added that the EU-Egypt partnership priorities document for 2021-2027 is about to be completed.
He revealed that Vice-President of the European Commission and its climate envoy Frans Timmermans will land in Cairo on Saturday in a “very important visit” to meet a number of Egyptian ministers and officials in light of the EU-Egyptian coordination on the upcoming UN COP27.
Berger said the European Union delegation in Egypt will hold several events in May on the occasion of the European Diversity Month 2022, many of them will be related to the environment.
Commenting on the visit paid by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group to Russia, the EU ambassador wished to settle the crisis, adding EU supports any diplomatic efforts and negotiations to end the military operation.
He also lauded the Egyptians’ awareness, especially youth, about the environmental issues, referring to the establishment of environment-related organizations in Egypt.
The EU is keen on enhancing cooperation with Egypt in the water-related domains, he added.