Luxembourg, 25/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 25 June, the Foreign Ministers of the EU congratulated the Muslim Brother Mohammed Morsi on his election as president of Egypt and welcomed the peaceful unfolding of the elections. “The EU congratulates the Egyptian people on this important stage in their democratic transition and this historic moment for the people, the country and the region”, their conclusions stress, adding that the EU welcomes the declaration by the president in which he expresses his intention of forming an inclusive government which will act on behalf of all Egyptians.
The ministers did, however, point out that they are also “deeply concerned”by recent events, in particular the dissolution of the Parliament and the constitutional declaration of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on 17 June, which delay and hinder transition and the return to an entirely civilian regime, stressing that the EU “reiterates its full support for democratic transition and stresses the need for power to be passed to the civilian authorities fully and quickly”. The Councils stressed the importance of an “inclusive and transparen”" process to draw up the new Constitution.
The French minister, Laurent Fabius, said that relations between his country and Egypt “will develop in full respect of the democratic rights of the people of Egypt” and of the country's international commitments. His British counterpart, William Hague, congratulated the Egyptian people on the “democratic and peaceful” process.
For his part, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso voiced his hopes that under the leadership of Morsi, Egypt would “carry out other socio-economic reforms and that all Egyptians will be able to fully enjoy their democratic rights and fundamental freedoms”. He also pointed out that “for the first time in history, the Egyptians have been able to choose their president in a democratic process. This is a major milestone in the political transition of Egypt”". President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz said that the “presidential elections were an important stage in the democratic process (…). I welcome the democratic and fair scrutiny of the vote”, he added. (CG/transl.fl)