Brussels, 15/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The representatives of the member states, meeting at the Political and Security Committee (COPS) on Tuesday 15 February, discussed the possibility of freezing the assets of several Egyptian former high-ranking officials. An official request from the Egyptian authorities to this effect was received in Brussels on Monday evening. “The member states of the EU received a request from the Egyptian foreign affairs minister on Monday for the freezing of the assets of a number of high-ranking officials of the old regime, but not former president Hosni Mubarak and his family”, Catherine Ashton's spokesperson told the press on Tuesday. The issue will also be discussed by the foreign affairs ministers of the EU27, at a dinner in Brussels on the evening of Sunday 20 February. An official decision may be taken the next day (21 February) by the Foreign Affairs Council, which will meet in Brussels under the chairmanship of Catherine Ashton. The subject was discussed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Ecofin Council. “We are looking into it. The decision will be made very quickly”, said the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. Without waiting for the formal decision of the EU, France has already ordered financial operators to notify any suspect movement relating to Egyptian assets. This measure targets Egyptian high-level officials and political decision-makers, including Hosni Mubarak, according to French sources. (H.B./transl.fl)