The use of Informality in Migration Cooperation in the Mediterranean: a legal assessment of the EU-Egypt Partnership and its implications for Egypt in the wake of the 2015 migration crisis.

This research explores the evolution of EU-Egypt cooperation on migration in the wake of the 2015 migration crisis, specifically focusing on most recent EU-Egypt 2024 Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership. Stemming from a personal interest in EU migration law and a field experience in a refugee-led organization in Cairo, this work address the ambiguous nature of EU agreements in managing migration in the Mediterranean through two interconnected perspectives: a legal analysis assessing its compliance with EU and international law, and a political lens, focusing on "migration diplomacy" to explore how both parties leverage migration to advance their respective agendas. Despite extensive studies on EU cooperation with countries like Libya, Turkey, and Tunisia, Egypt’s role remains relatively underexplored. Yet, since the so called 2015 “migration crisis”, Egypt has gained a certain role in the EU migration management strategy, increasingly representing a country of origin and transit for migrants, particularly those fleeing conflict zones such as Syria and, more recently, Sudan. This research employs qualitative methods, including case study, comparative legal analysis, and interviews with migration experts, and aims to assess the legal implication of EU-Egypt informal cooperation on Egypt’s migration normative system. The findings will be discussed addressing the strategic political use of migration by both EU and Egypt and its legal consequences, offering critical insights into the responsibilities of the EU in migration management and its complicity in potential violations of refugee law in Egypt.