The Italian group Eni said on Tuesday that it will increase gas processing capacity in Egypt's Western Desert through the second phase of the Mleiha project.
The company explained that it has launched start-up activities to develop a new gas center within the integrated Maliha concession area.
Eni added that the project will significantly increase gas processing capacity and support the growth of gas production in Egypt. The new facilities are designed to process up to 100 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The facilities will ensure that new production is connected to Egypt's existing gas infrastructure. The project will also contribute to increasing the availability of gas to the local market.
Eni is currently the largest energy producer in Egypt, and its production of hydrocarbons reached about 242 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day based on its share of production during the year 2025.
The French government, headed by Sébastien Lecournau, faces an uphill battle to pass the 2027 budget, with opposition parties insisting on rejecting plans to reduce the deficit, and mounting demands to increase spending on public services that suffer from underfunding, in conjunction with the rise in borrowing costs to their highest levels since 2022. The pressure is increasing as the presidential elections scheduled for next April and May approach, amid the government’s limited ability to mobilize parliamentary support.
Postponing the revenue vote
The budget is facing a difficult test in the National Assembly, as the vote on the revenue part, which was scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed to October 27; To allow room for discussion of a large number of amendments. Budget Minister David Amiel warned that the amendments approved so far could increase the budget deficit by about 10 billion euros ($11 billion).
The constitution gives Parliament 70 days to discuss and amend the draft budget, starting with the National Assembly and then the Senate, before returning to the first chamber for a final vote. But the project may not reach this stage if the opposition insists on rejecting the government’s plan to achieve savings worth 54 billion euros. Which puts Locorno in front of alternative options to pass the budget.
Article 49.3 returns to the forefront
The government may again resort to Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows a draft law to be passed without a vote in the National Assembly. Successive minority governments have used this path to pass budgets since the early legislative elections in 2024, which produced a parliament without a clear majority.
But activating the article allows the opposition to submit a motion of no confidence in the government. Which may force it to make concessions to ensure its survival, usually to socialist, centrist, or conservative parties. As political forces prepare for the 2027 presidential elections, the chances of reaching a settlement seem less clear.
If the government is overthrown following a vote of no confidence, the draft budget will be dropped, and the next government will be forced to rework it again.
Extension of the 2026 budget
If the seventy-day period elapses without approving the budget, and the government does not use Article 49.3, it can resort to an emergency law extending the work of the 2026 budget until a new budget is approved.
However, this option may prolong the financial stagnation; After the spring elections, the elected president is expected to dissolve Parliament and call for new legislative elections. This may delay the approval of a full budget for the year 2027 until the second half of the year, coinciding with the start of preparing the 2028 budget.
A Ministry of Finance report warned that extending the budget could lead to unprecedented paralysis in spending, freezing investments and planned increases in defense spending, at a time when social welfare expenditures continue to rise. The deficit could expand by at least half a percentage point of GDP, weakening investor confidence and increasing borrowing costs.
Ordinances... the riskiest option
However, if the government remains in power beyond mid-December without a budget, it may attempt to approve it by decree, bypassing Parliament in one of the state’s most important annual legislations.
This route was never used under the French Fifth Republic, and legal experts see it as an extremely dangerous option that could lead to a vote of no confidence. Unlike the mechanism of Article 49.3, overthrowing the government after approving the budget by decree does not automatically lead to its invalidation.
But President Emmanuel Macron is likely to have difficulty forming a new government before the elections; Which may keep the Locorno government in a caretaker position. In practice, the decreed budget may be a temporary solution until a new government is able to obtain parliamentary support for its own fiscal plan in late 2027.
