Brussels, 13/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, left Brussels with the assurance of receiving European Union support for the democratic transition of his country and possible economic support of more than €600 million, in addition to the expansion of trade relations through the preparation of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. €500 million could be paid out in the form of macro-financial assistance on the condition that the agreement that Egypt is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund goes ahead. €150-200 million could also be added through the plan for the country's economic recovery. Other important future stages could include the setting up of an EU- Egypt task force on 14-15 November in Brussels, which will bring together the European institutions, member states and international financial institutions, in addition to launching preparations for FTA negotiations. The president of the European Council, Mr Van Rompuy, emphasised that this would provide Egypt with access to, “the biggest market in the world, that of Europe”.
Democracy's red lines. The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission stressed that this first visit of, “a democratically elected Egyptian president” allowed for discussions regarding the transition of the country towards democracy, particularly through the ongoing development of a constitution enshrining human rights, respect for women and religion. Morsi provided assurances that his country was “modern and civilised” and explained that a woman and a Coptic Christian were among the five senior officials accompanying him. The EU's determination to support the country along this path was borne out by the offer made by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to provide an observation mission for the elections, where it would supervise the next general election in November, “if this is the wish of the Egyptian authorities”, he explained.
International. During discussions with President Morsi, representatives from the European institutions were unable to remain silent with regard to the most recent incidents in the Middle East. Morsi supported the strong condemnation by Europe of the recent attacks against US diplomatic delegations in Cairo and in Libya (four fatalities, including an ambassador) (see EUROPE 10697). Nonetheless, the Egyptian president expressed strong disapproval of the broadcast in the US of a film denigrating Islam, which ignited the whole tinderbox. He said that this had been, “insulting to Islam” and expects the US authorities to take a serious step forward in an effort to put a stop to this.
European and Egyptian leaders discussed the conflict in Syria and President Morsi echoed Barroso's words to affirm that, “there is no place for a president who kills his own people”. To this end, Morsi confirmed that the Quartet (Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt), presided by his country, is expected to begin work on this question very soon. (MD/trans/fl)