Egypt, EU to Enhance Partnership

Sisi met with Von der Leyen in Cairo last week. (Egyptian presidency)
Sisi met with Von der Leyen in Cairo last week. (Egyptian presidency)
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Egypt, EU to Enhance Partnership

Sisi met with Von der Leyen in Cairo last week. (Egyptian presidency)
Sisi met with Von der Leyen in Cairo last week. (Egyptian presidency)

The ninth meeting of the EU-Egypt Association Council is set to kick off on Sunday in Luxembourg.

The event will be co-chaired by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

It will endorse the new EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities document 2021–2027, which will guide the partnership between both parties, Egypt’s official news agency MENA reported.

The meeting will also tackle the relation between Egypt and the EU, as well as other political issues.

Participants will discuss in the plenary session the developments and prospects of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Egypt.

The political dialogue will then touch on global and regional issues of common interest.

The meeting comes a few days after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Cairo and met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Sisi said the EU is Cairo’s key partner in various fields, adding that they both agree to lay the foundations for a strategic partnership.”

Von der Leyen pledged “immediate relief of 100 million euros” to support food security in Egypt, which has relied on Russia and Ukraine for over 80% of its wheat.

Egypt has been pressing to achieve a qualitative leap in its partnership with the EU in the future by enhancing cooperation in various major sectors, including energy and clean energy, food security, digital transformation, electric transport, modern agriculture and irrigation, and vaccine production.

It has established mechanisms to encourage European companies to invest more in Egypt and signed a tripartite cooperation with the EU and their partners in the African continent.



Iraq Faces 2025 Fiscal Squeeze Amid Oil Price Decline, Adviser to PM Says 

A general view shows an oil rig used in drilling at the Zubair oilfield in Basra, Iraq, July 5, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view shows an oil rig used in drilling at the Zubair oilfield in Basra, Iraq, July 5, 2022. (Reuters)
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Iraq Faces 2025 Fiscal Squeeze Amid Oil Price Decline, Adviser to PM Says 

A general view shows an oil rig used in drilling at the Zubair oilfield in Basra, Iraq, July 5, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view shows an oil rig used in drilling at the Zubair oilfield in Basra, Iraq, July 5, 2022. (Reuters)

Iraq faces a budget crunch in 2025 due to the slump in the price of oil, the overwhelming source of government revenue, a top economic adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said.

"We don't anticipate major problems in 2024, but we need stricter financial discipline for 2025," Mudher Saleh told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, is heavily dependent on oil revenues. The hydrocarbons sector accounts for the vast majority of export earnings and some 90% of state revenue.

This huge reliance on oil makes Iraq particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in global crude prices.

Still, Iraq increased its budget in 2024 even after record spending in 2023, when more than half a million additional employees were hired into the already-bloated public sector and a capital-intensive nationwide infrastructure revamp began.

The 2024 budget rose to 211 trillion dinars ($161 billion) from 199 trillion dinars ($153 billion) in 2023, maintaining a projected deficit of 64 trillion dinars, Saleh said.

The budget assumes an oil price of $70 per barrel in 2024, around $6 less than the likely average price this year.

Saleh said that paying salaries and pensions on time remain a top priority. They account for 90 trillion dinars ($69 billion), or over 40% of the budget, and are a key factor of social stability in Iraq.

"The government will pay salaries even if it costs everything. Salaries are holy in Iraq," he said.

Infrastructure development, meanwhile, could be refocused on the most strategic projects - such as key road and bridge works in the capital Baghdad - if the state finds itself in a financial crunch, he said.

To bolster finances, Iraq is focusing on increasing non-oil revenues through improved tax collection but is not exploring any new levies, Saleh said.

He estimated that Iraq loses up to $10 billion annually due to tax evasion and customs-related problems.

Concerns for the 2025 budget reflect a challenging global oil market. Oil prices have been on a downward trend since mid-2022, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, falling from over $120 per barrel to below $75 in recent days.

This decline is largely attributed to weakening global demand, particularly from China, the world's largest oil importer, as its economic growth slows down.