Cairo, 24/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Egyptian Government has officially given its embassy in Brussels the "go-ahead" to initial the Association Agreement with the EU, according to a press release from the Egyptian foreign ministry. The ambassador to the EU stipulates that the initialing ceremony will be held this week still and will be signed at the same time as the EU Council of Ministers.
You may recall that this is not the first announcement of its type: indeed, since negotiations were practically over, two years ago, Cairo has been hesitant which has led to further internal discussions within the Egyptian camp on the validity of certain concessions secured, and requests for additional explanations addressed to Brussels, especially over agriculture.