1.

Presentation of the current development stage of the selected partner country

2. Short description of the possible alternatives for development

3. Short description of the partner country’s national development program

4. Current necessary development programs, and development priorities:

Currently in Egypt there are various development programs to tackle the migration legal and illegal
aspects. Those programs are funded simultaneously by the Egyptian government and by other nations –
made out most importantly from Europe and the USA. The European countries most concerned with the
migration situation in Egypt are Germany and Italy, as they are the most prone to be recipients of the
“Illegal Migration”.

There are several programs working on the interlocking “Migration” field.

We can take as an example the European Union Emergency Trust fund. On the 12th of November 2015,
the Constitutive Agreement to officially establish the EUTF for Africa, was signed by the European
Commission, 25 EU Member States, Norway, and Switzerland. The cooperation with Egyptian Authorities
under the framework of the EUTF for Africa initiated in 2015 with the focus on strengthening migration
governance, countering trafficking of human beings, and smuggling of migrants, improving protection of
migrants’ rights, and supporting host communities and migrants. Under this program, the areas deemed
important for an improved Migration Management were Protection, voluntary return, reintegration and
community stabilization, Integrated border management, Labor migration and mobility, and Improved
migration governance.

In In 2021, such initiative achieved the following results in Egypt (Source European Commission):

The fields of promoting employability, awareness, education, and health are all related to migration, as
usually the migration incentives are a lack of education, employability, and awareness (especially for
illegal migration).

Another program aiming at fostering a better environment for the youths, and marginalized
communities, was implemented through the EUROPEAN NEIBORGHOOED POLICY, under the EU/EGYPT
action plan. This action plan was set to help to devise and implement policies and measures to promote
economic growth, employment, and social cohesion, and to reduce poverty, thereby contributing to the
long-term objective of sustainable development. Under this program several priorities were deemed
important, and indirectly tackled migration.

These priorities were:

-The enhancement of the effectiveness of institutions entrusted with strengthening democracy and the
rule of law and consolidate the independent and effective administration of justice.

-The promotion of the protection of human rights in all its aspects; improve the dialogue between
cultures and religions, cooperate in the fight against intolerance, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia
and in the promotion of respect for religions and cultures.

-The improvement of the macroeconomic governance, reforming the financial sector, strengthening the
role of the private sector, enhancing the business climate, for SMEs, eliminating institutional, regulatory,
and administrative obstacles with a view to attract increasing national and foreign investments and to
create job opportunities, consequently alleviating poverty.

-The boosting of the industrial development and enterprises capabilities and competitiveness through
improved skills, better access to finance, promotion of new technologies, encouraging entrepreneurship
and innovation, and development of efficient business support services and increase labor force
productivity.

-The strengthening of the cooperation on poverty reduction and social development, in the areas of
combating illiteracy, education reforms, upgrading the vocational training, training systems, quality
assurance, as well as better socio-economic inclusion and social insurance and developing the health
sector reform.

-The reform of the education and higher education systems aim among other issues at enhancing overall
quality and relevance to the labor market.

-The strengthening of the co-operation on migration-related issues, including the effective joint
management of migration flows, legal and illegal migration, readmission, facilitation of the legal
movement of individuals, equal treatment and social integration for legal migrants, and asylum issues.

-The promotion of the cooperation on fight against organized crime, including trafficking in human
beings, fight against drugs, fight against money laundering, and police and judicial cooperation.

-The promotion of the Promote co-operation in the transport field, on developing infrastructure policies,
implementing the sector reform program aiming at separating regulatory, management and operation
tasks.

-The strengthening of the links and co-operation in “people-to-people” contacts in youth and sports,
culture and audiovisual areas and civil society.

All the above priorities lay the foundation for tackling illegal migration, as well as for providing a better
environment for the Egyptian people so that they can find the same opportunities and environment as
abroad. Many similar programs are ongoing and have been ongoing for so long, mostly sponsored from
abroad.

5. Conditions, initiatives, and tools for development:

The framework when it comes migration and reforming the Egyptian illegal and legal migration systems
can be done under certain aspects, conditions, and fields.
Two main components related to labor migration governance are elaborated on below: namely
implementing institutions and legal sources for labor migration. (Source International organization of
migration)

1. Implementing institutions Policy formulation in Egypt is highly centralized and adopts a top-down
approach, necessitating the approval of the Presidential administration and the Council of Ministers or
trusted advisors. Decision making within the ministries is also concentrated at the top. The Ministry of
Manpower in Egypt is the primary public employment service agency for Egyptians wishing to work
abroad. Additionally, there are usually more ministries and authorities that implement employment
policies in Egypt. Coordination between the different ministries and authorities is therefore needed for
the success of any holistic and comprehensive national employment strategy. In addition to the role of
the ministries, there are other key institutions involved in migration governance in Egypt, including
international organizations (The World Bank, ILO, IOM), International Development Agencies (USAID, EU
and GIZ) and research-oriented think tanks (ERF and CMRS AUC).

2. Labor migration legislation There are various laws relating to the recruitment of migrant workers
more specifically. The most important of these relevant laws and regulations for the governance of the
migrant workers recruitment process in Egypt are presented below:

a) Egyptian National Labor Act The primary legislation for protecting migrant workers during the
recruitment process is the section on employment in the National Labor Act of Egypt. Articles 17 to 24
are directly related to the recruitment of migrant workers. Article 17 specifies that the recruitment of
migrant workers shall only be through the ministry in charge of labor recruitment, other relevant
ministries and governmental bodies, the General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, Egyptian public
and private sector companies with signed agreements with foreign entities within the limits of their
activities and mandates, recruitment agencies that are licensed by the competent ministry in charge,
and professional syndicates, who can facilitate the recruitment of their members only. Article 18
stipulates that international organizations may be engaged in the recruitment of migrant workers only
through a contract with governmental bodies or Arab or foreign public bodies.

The Labor Act also puts the Ministry of Manpower, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in
charge of monitoring the implementation of international agreements and contracts related to Egyptian
workers abroad and can discuss the settlement of disputes arising from the implementation of these
agreements and contracts. Article 20 stipulates that the parties referred to in the previously mentioned
articles of this act shall submit to the competent ministry a copy of the request it received for Egyptian
migrant workers. The request should include the provision of employment opportunities. The parties
shall also provide a copy of agreements and work contracts concluded, including conditions of
employment, salary, and the worker’s obligations under the contract. The Ministry then has 10 days at
most to express any objections in the event the agreements and/or contracts do not comply with the
general rules of employment. If the 10-day period expires without any objections from the Ministry, the
agreements, applications, and contracts shall be deemed to have been approved.

Article 21 prohibits the parties referred to in Article 18 from taking any remuneration from the workers
for their employment. However, the costs for the recruitment process of the migrant worker shall be
paid by the employer. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the companies
referred to in Article 17 (e) of this act may charge an amount not exceeding 2% of the remuneration of
the worker for the first year of employment as administrative expenses only. The act also outlines the
conditions for recruitment agencies to become licensed by the government as well as the conditions
that may lead to the revocation of a license. It is significant to note that one of the conditions that may
lead to the revocation of an agency’s license is having the migrant worker pay more than the amount
stipulated under Article 21 of the Labor Act.

b) Act No. 111 of 1983 on the Migration and Welfare of Egyptians Abroad

Egypt’s Migration Act does not specify any provisions regarding the recruitment of migrant workers.
However, it sets out two significant tasks for the ministry in charge of migration affairs, currently the
Ministry of State for Migration Affairs and Egyptians abroad. Firstly, it stipulates that the competent
ministry oversees cooperating with other ministries and relevant agencies regarding proposing drafts of
acts and decisions relating to migration. Secondly, it instructs the ministry to propose bilateral labor
agreements with foreign countries to provide better access for Egyptian workers to foreign markets and
facilitate their stay in their countries of destination. It also asserts that the role of the ministry is to
protect the rights and interests of Egyptian migrants abroad. While these provisions do not address
recruitment in a direct sense, they remain significant to the recruitment process since the major
objective of concluding bilateral labor agreements is to facilitate the recruitment of migrant workers
while providing the best protection to migrants who migrate under the agreements.

Act No. 76 of 2016 on Organizing the Employment of Egyptian Workers in Foreign Entities

The Act on Organizing the Employment of Egyptian Workers in Foreign Entities is primarily significant in
shaping the mandate of the Ministry of Interior about migration affairs. This Act outlines the rules,
procedures, and penalties regarding obtaining work permits which are required for migrant workers
who are travelling to work for a foreign entity. It also includes the rules, procedures, and penalties
regarding the renewal of such permits. The provisions of the Act are significant for labor recruitment
because it gives the Ministry of Interior the mandate to detect fraudulent recruitment activities. To
obtain such permits, the relevant departments of the Ministry of Interior, which are explained in the
following section, must ensure that the workers’ contracts are valid.

Act No. 82 of 2016 Regarding Combating Illegal Migration and Migrant Smuggling

A significant step taken by Egypt towards combating irregular migration was the adoption in 2016 of the
Act Regarding Combating Illegal Migration and Migrant Smuggling. The Act begins by providing
important definitions including transnational crimes, organized criminal groups and migrant smuggling.
Article 2 is dedicated to crimes and punishment. The Act severely punishes smugglers who exploit
migrants. Article 5 penalizes anyone who establishes, organizes, or manages criminal groups/networks
for the purpose of smuggling migrants. The Act also criminalizes and specifies punishments for those
who are members of such groups and even intermediaries between the aspiring migrants and criminal
networks.
6. Proposal for the EU’s development assistance program

The formulation of an EU led development assistance program in Egypt should revolve around one of
the below fields and conditionalities, as it will probe migration and touch upon it either directly or
indirectly. (Source the European Commission EU/EGYPT action plan 1)

A project that enhances the effectiveness of institutions entrusted with strengthening democracy and the
rule of law, it should:

– Strengthen participation in political life, including the promotion of public awareness and
participation in elections.
– Exchange experience in the field of elections and jointly develop cooperation in areas of shared
interest including through helping on registering electors and capacity building.
– Foster the role of civil society and enhance its capacity to contribute more effectively to the
democratic and political process as well as to the economic and social progress in accordance
with national legislation.
– Pursue and support the efforts Government of Egypt towards decentralization and the reform of
local administration.
– Enhance the ongoing political dialogue between the Egyptian and the European Parliaments.
– Establish a formal and regular dialogue on Human Rights and Democracy in the framework of
the Association Agreement in the context of the relevant subcommittee.
– Pursue and support the Government of Egypt in the further modernization and development of
public services rendered to citizens, promoting accountability, transparency, and contestability.

A project that enhances rights and fundamental freedoms, it should:

– Support Egyptian government efforts to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in line
with international conventions to which Egypt is party and to elaborate a human rights strategy
in partnership with the NCHR and with appropriate consultation of other relevant organizations.
– Strengthen the culture of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Egypt and in
the EU.
– Support Egyptian efforts to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of competent Egyptian
public institutions and councils.
– Continue the review of respective national legislations to further align their laws and practices
with international human rights instruments to which they are party and considering relevant
UN recommendations.
– Examine the possibility of accession to the optional protocols to international human rights
conventions to which Egypt is a party.
– Continue and enhance cooperation with UN and African human rights treaty mechanisms, as
well as with the newly established UN Human Rights Council.
– Examine the possibility for the EU Member States to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of
Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
– Promote dialogue on policies for physically and mentally disabled.
– Promote a dialogue on Rome Statute of International Criminal Court.
1
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/123584/egypt_enp_ap_final_en1_0.pdf
 – Examine the relevant UN recommendations and the recommendations of the Egyptian National
Council for Human Rights pertaining to security, detention conditions and prison staff with a
view to their practical implementation to protect the human rights and integrity of detainees
and to fight impunity.
– Initiate a review of laws and regulations dealing with pre-trial and administrative detention
systems taking into consideration the relevant UN recommendations, particularly to ensure the
prompt access of detainees to legal counsel and family.
– Ensure the possibility of legal recourse against death sentences for all types of courts, in
accordance with the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the
death penalty and considering Article 4 and article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
– Engage in a dialogue on the death penalty.
– Co-operate to promote the achievement of the right to development in bilateral and
multilateral.

A project that improves women’s and children’s rights, it should aim to:

– Promote the enhancement of women’s participation in political, economic, and social life as well
as their role in the political decision-making process by supporting the formulation and
implementation of Egypt’s government policies and programs.
– Support Egypt’s efforts to promote gender equality and reinforce the fight against discrimination
and gender-based violence, including strengthening the activities of the National Council for
Women including its periodic review of the relevant existing legislation and recommendations
for new legislation.
– Consolidate the rights of the child through the application of the relevant UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child and consider revising existing legislation considering the recommendations of
the relevant UN Committee.
– Support the efforts of the Government of Egypt to eradicate the practice of female genital
mutilation including through appropriate legislative actions and the raising of public awareness.

A project that enables the Freedom of association and of expression and pluralism of the media, it
should:

– Implement measures that promote the right of assembly and association in accordance with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
– Assert freedom of expression and independence of the media by facilitating the work of
independent information providers including through appropriate legislative action.
– Examine the possibility for developing specific legislation on the protection of private data.
– Pursue the liberalization process in the information sector and further increase access to
information for all citizens including by reviewing the legal and administrative frameworks.
– Establish cooperation activities on media issues including capacity building.

A project that fights against discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia, it should:

– Cooperate to combat all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia and in
particular hate or defamatory discourse based on religion, beliefs, race, or origin, inter alia
through exchange of best practices and legislative action, as required.
 – Strengthen the role of media in combating xenophobia and discrimination on the grounds of
religious belief or culture and assume its responsibilities in this regard.
– Promote efforts, in Egypt and the EU, towards increasing tolerance, understanding and respect
of all religions and cultures.

A project that tackles Fundamental social rights and core labor standards, it should:

– Develop a dialogue on fundamental social rights and core labor standards.

– Support measures that enhance the development and independence of trade unions and their
role in economic and social life.
– Enhance the effective implementation of core labor standards as defined in the
– 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and related ILO
Conventions.

A project that enhances the functioning of the market economy, it should:

– Increase the capacity to create sustainable growth and employment by further improving the
conditions of private sector development, enhancing the investment climate, and accelerating
the privatization program. These measures should be accompanied by improving education and
training including through EU support.
– Work to reduce gradually economic distortions as well as to better target subsidies to eligible
groups of the population and upgrade the social safety net.
– Accelerate the reform of the financial sector, the restructuring and the privatization of state
banks and the introduction of strong financial market supervision.
– Improve the efficiency of public services and accelerate and streamline the procedures which
are necessary to set up a new company.
– Reduce and accelerate judicial procedures which are necessary to enforce contracts.
– Develop co-operation in promoting and developing dispute resolution and exchange of expertise
in the arbitration of commercial disputes.

A project that enhances social development through cooperation and dialogue, it should:

– Strengthen measures for poverty alleviation through the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the
anti-poverty action plan.
– Engage in a dialogue on employment and social issues including the social consequences of
economic reforms with a view to develop a joint analysis of the situation and identify possible
measures in this field. – Develop and implement market driven strategies for addressing the
problem of unemployment; modernize the Public Employment Services.
– Support the implementation of the new labor code including through institutional capacity
building. Continue the adoption of implementing regulations and build enforcement capacity.
– Strengthen the social dialogue at all levels (tripartite and bipartite).
– Ensure and develop the institutional capacity building of the social partners to take the suitable
measures according to the International Labor conventions.
– Implement the relevant International Labor Conventions to which both Egypt and the EU
Member States are parties.
 – Strengthen the efficiency, targeting and coverage of social expenditures with a particular
attention to the enlargement of the base of the targeted groups and to the improvement of
social statistics.
– Engage in a dialogue on programs and initiatives aimed at fostering social inclusion based on the
principle of nondiscrimination, with particular attention to the integration of disadvantaged, the
disabled groups, the marginalized groups, and people with special needs.
– Ensure equal opportunities for women and men, including in the field of employment. Further
enhance the role of women in economic and social progress.
– Enhance protection of rights of the children at risk, particularly working children, street children
and children with disabilities, and intensify efforts to progressively eliminate child labor.
– Engage in a dialogue with a view to promote equal treatment of Egyptian and Community
nationals who are legally residing and working in the territory of the Community or Egypt.
– Promote exchanges of experiences, dialogue, and cooperation on matters of social security,
notably on issues such as the reform of pension systems, the introduction of new instruments
and the extension of the coverage of social protection and the improvement and enforcement
of social security institutions.

A project that aims to Support and enhance cooperation in reforming and upgrading the education and
training systems and work within the framework of Egyptian plans towards convergence with EU and
international standards and practice, it should:

– Combat illiteracy and achieve education for all, especially for women and girls, by continuing the
reform of the education systems, and pre-school education aiming at early childhood
development.
– Continue and enhance a policy dialogue between EU and Egyptian authorities in the field of
education and training.
– Continue to reform primary and secondary education to improve quality, especially through
continuing decentralization and community involvement and human resources development for
teachers and professors, as well as technical vocational education and training (TVET) to make it
more responsive to market needs in the context of the Egyptian national educational standards.
– Reform higher education in line with the principles of Bologna process to improve internal and
external efficiency. Foster the development of human resources and human capital and
promote the reform of higher education through the TEMPUS programmed; ensure the
integration of the social dimension in educational planning and programs.

A project that enhances border management cooperation between Egypt and the EU Member States, it
should:

– Develop co-operation between relevant law enforcement bodies in Egypt and in the EU and
initiate appropriate technical contacts with FRONTEX (European Border Agency).
– Cooperation in reinforcing organizational capacities of controlling and surveillance of entry and
exit points, including ad hoc training.

A project that develops migration related issues, it should:

– Develop a comprehensive and balanced dialogue with Egypt on various migration-related issues,
including legal migration, seasonal migration, status of Egyptian migrants and workers residing
 legally in Europe, brain drain, asylum, movement of people, control of illegal migration and
return, visa.
– Monitoring and analysis of the migration phenomenon: synergy with the Euro Med initiatives on
research on migration and the Consortium on Applied Research on International Migration
(CARIM) in particular.
– Promote the possibilities of Egypt to benefit from the Community programs and the AENEAS
program aimed at providing technical and financial assistance to third countries in the areas of
migration and asylum.
– Promote the discussion between Egypt and the EU and its Member States on the economic,
political, social, and cultural dimensions of the migration issues, in addition to its security
dimension.

A project that ensures an effective management of migration flows, it should:

– Exchange of information and experiences on legal migration, entry and stay, integration,
reunification of family, inventory of existing routes and commitments made by Member States.
– Enhance cooperation to facilitate the legal movement of people between Egypt and the EU
through strengthening of the concerned institutions dealing with the promotion of employment,
capacity building, as well as providing information about the employment opportunities for
labor migrants in the EU, risks of smuggling and trafficking of migrants; ensuring fair treatment
of legal Egyptian migrants and facilitate the flow of remittance transfers.
– Exchange of information and promotion of co-operation on transit migration.

A project that ensures the cooperation in combating illegal immigration into Egypt and the European
Union, it should:

– Exchange of information and experiences on migratory movements, illegal migration including

the scale of illegal immigration into and via Egypt.
– Pursue and support effort to prevent and counter illegal migration into Egypt and the European
Union.
– Develop a dialogue and cooperation to curb illegal migration flows, including in the regional
context

A project that Improves cooperation regarding readmission, it should:

– Develop the cooperation between Egypt and EU on readmission, including negotiating

readmission agreements between the parties, building on Article 69 of the Association
Agreement, considering the human dimension, socioeconomic aspects and accompanying
measures.
– Cooperation on consular affairs and issuing of travel documents.

A project that Facilitates the movement of persons, it should:

– Cooperate in the field of improving the movement of persons, including to facilitate the uniform
visa issuing procedures for certain agreed categories of persons as stated in the Association
Agreement and in accordance with the acquis.
– Cooperate to improve security of travel documents and visa in conformity with ICAO standards.
A project that deals with Asylum issues, it should focus on the Exchange information and best practices
in the field of asylum policy, refugee status determination, and legislation, and cooperate on the inter-
linkages between migration and asylum.

All the mentioned above projects can be worked on either separately or jointly, to affect migration
directly or indirectly.

7. Proposed conditionality elements

There are various conditionalities to improve migration governance, such as given below:

• Migration governance through the development of services for migrants to provide information on the
jobs available abroad and to develop training programmes to help migrants to find jobs abroad, and
open new international markets for nationals

• Countries are urged to address the root causes and drivers of migration and policies that promote safe
and orderly mobility. This may be addressed through more cooperation on regular migration with
regional partners as well as socioeconomic development efforts and mainstreaming migration into
development planning

• Analyze the changing demographic structures of the world and their impact on the future of work and
the future of skills considering the demographic surplus in the countries under consideration and the
demographic deficit in other countries to utilize mechanisms for demographic complementarities

• Expand and reconsider existing and new bilateral cooperation between the countries to better govern
international migration for the benefit of migrants, source countries, as well as recipient countries

• Carry out research on future demand for migrant labor in external labor markets to formulate
education and training policies aimed at meeting this demand without impairing the functioning of the
labor markets of the four countries.