Brussels, 20/08/2013 (Agence Europe) - EU foreign affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Wednesday 21 August for an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on Egypt, said EU Special Representative for the Mediterranean Bernardino Leon at the end of the ambassadors meeting. They will discuss recent developments in Egypt and examine possible measures coordinated at European level to confront the situation and to work on a document with proposals presented by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. “The EU wants to respond to the situation but to remain a constructive actor for promoting a political solution”, Leon recapped. He stated that whatever the decisions taken on Wednesday, it will be with a view to a political solution. Leon added, however, that during the ambassadors meeting, “we did not discuss sanctions”, and that at this stage he has not heard any type of sanction being spoken about. “We discuss responses to the situation in an open minded and constructive way”, he added, stating that the EU wants to keep the communication channels open.
On 18 August, the presidents of the European Commission and European Council, José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy respectively, announced that the EU was going to adopt measures to promote an end to the violence, the resumption of political dialogue and the return to a democratic process.
Possible suspension of economic aid. Leon stated that the proposals will be on the meeting table of the heads of diplomacy. “The ministers have spoken of many different possibilities recently (…) One of the possibilities is an arms embargo”, he said in reply to a question from a journalist about the embargo. On 18 August, Germany's Chancellor Angelo Merkel believed that the export of arms could be “the subject of measures that clearly show our scepticism with regard to what is happening”. It is unlikely, however, that consensus will be found on the embargo. Nonetheless, the member states could agree on their national military cooperation with Egypt.
Europe could also limit, or even suspend, its financial aid to Egypt. Although this support has not officially been suspended, no funding was released for those in power in 2012 due to a lack of progress in the reforms, but the non-governmental organisations continue to benefit from European aid. Austria's Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Spindelegger said on 18 August the he wanted the EU to suspend its aid of €5 billion - subsidies and loans - promised during the task force on 14 November 2012, aid that Egypt has not yet received. “My demand is that a brake must be put on the €5 billion until the process returns to democracy”, Spindelegger stated. Qatar has already said that it is ready to compensate any freeze in European funding for Egypt.
According to Reuters, quoting several European sources, the EU could also threaten to suspend the association agreement, signed in 2001, which includes facilities for industrial and agricultural products.
The ministers are expected to send a political message to Egypt in their conclusions.
Many European calls for the end to violence. Throughout summer, representatives from the EU and member states have expressed their concerns about the situation in the country. “There is no alternative to the dialogue. All the Egyptian political forces must commit again to the democratic future of their country and commit to a political process leading to the swift holding of elections and the implementation of a civil government”, Barroso and Van Rompuy again stated on 18 August, adding that the army must respect and support this political process. They “deeply” regret the fact that the international efforts for building links and establishing an inclusive political process have been put aside.
Barroso and Van Rompuy reiterated that it is “essential that the violence stop immediately”. Like Ashton, they have spoken of the specific responsibility of the interim authorities and the army. “The violence and murders of recent days cannot be justified or tolerated”, they stated (our translation throughout). “Responsibility for this tragedy weighs heavily on the interim government as well as on the wider political leadership in the country”, Ashton said on 16 August, calling again, amongst other things, on all parties to put an end to the violence, and for restraint from the security forces. Two days earlier, Ashton had reacted following the evacuation of places in Cairo where there were Muslim Brotherhood and where violence took place.
On 7 August, in a joint press release with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Ashton had called for a return to democracy in Egypt, after the failure of the international mediation of US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Leon.
Over 850 people have died since the evacuation of the Muslim Brotherhood camps in Cairo on 14 August. (CG/transl.fl)