Brussels, 08/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 7 July, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton called on all the Egyptian parties “immediately to put in place a process which preserves civil liberties, and allows all political leaders to begin an inclusive dialogue, leading to elections in the shortest possible time”. This process should also preserve civil liberties, Ashton's spokesperson added in a press release. “Only through dialogue and a willingness to include all constituencies on the basis of a political road map can the country find its way back to democracy and stability. Egypt's democratic project will depend on all democratic forces participating fully and freely as a key principle” for “a credible return to a democratic transition”.
The EU “will do all it can to support efforts to preserve calm and bring social and political peace across Egypt”, Ashton's spokesperson stated. The spokesperson said that Ashton has stated this in all her contacts with Egyptian leaders, as has the EU's special representative, Bernardino Leon, in his contacts on the ground and “these contacts include the Muslim Brotherhood”. Ashton's spokesperson, Michael Mann, said on 8 July that the EU was ready to send a political mission to Cairo as soon as the time is right.
Reiterating that the recent events - in particular “the confrontations which have resulted in so many deaths and injuries” - are a cause of “grave concern to all Europeans”, Ashton's press release states that the recent events “make even more urgent our call for an immediate end to the violence”.
Condemnation of the violence. Mann said after the death of around 40 pro-Morsi protesters by police and military gunfire, that, generally, the EU condemned and regretted the violence, and that it called for the political process to be pursued peacefully. President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz “strongly” condemned “the use of violence against civilians who demonstrate”. “Egypt's security forces and all political actors must show responsibility and stop the bloodshed”, he continued. He stated that, in this critical and tense time, the preservation of national unity and reconciliation must remain the highest priority of all Egyptians.
Elsewhere, Ashton's spokesperson stated that the EU's aid to Egypt, as to other countries, is the subject of constant assessment, and for the moment the EU did not plan to change the aid programme although it could. (CG/transl.fl)