Brussels, 26/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, on a two-day official visit to Egypt on Sunday 24 February and Monday 25 February, at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Fathi Sourour, believes that he has succeeded in reducing Egyptian anger. The visit was arranged to reduce tension caused by a European Parliament resolution (17 January) on human rights in the country, which had been angrily disputed by Cairo (EUROPE 9589). Egyptian absences from recent meetings were not, according to Mr Sourour, “a final boycott because friendship and partnership cannot be broken by a fleeting crisis”. However, he did warn that “such a crisis can be repeated if the reasons that led to it (the previous resolution) still exist because there are many people who want to tarnish the real situation”. Pöttering stated that “our partnership is solid. It can easily overcome the small crises and even become stronger through them”. In a press declaration during his visit, he played down the scope of the resolution.
The determination to reduce the impact of the current crisis stems from the desire not to upset the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) plenary session (end of March) which Mr Pöttering hopes to chair. The president of the European Parliament is still being criticised about the human rights resolution. His Egyptian counterpart believes that the “accusations” made in the resolution “are not objective”. In an interview published in the weekly Al-Ahram (20-26 February 2008) he appealed for a “relationship based on equality and mutual respect”. Signing the Action Plan (as part of neighbourhood policy, ENP), “does not mean Egypt has to suffer European hegemony”. The very principle of the Action Plan “contests the European Parliament initiative, which took a decision without consulting Egypt and contains misleading information. This fact contradicts the logic of the partnership”. In the resolution Mr Sourour sees a “policy of double standards, two measures for such a delicate question as human rights”. This comment was an explicit reference to Israel. Mr Sourour criticised the opposition which he suspects for providing “false information” to the European Parliament about the state of the country (which is now likely to be tackled as an act of consorting with a foreign power (EUROPE 9591). President Sourour explained that “although the opposition has not succeeded in dominating the will of the Assembly, because of the government's majority, it has to understand that this is the principle of democracy”.
Mr Pöttering said that it was their duty to promote respect for democracy together, as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms. He affirmed: “We are quite aware that the internal situation can be complex, especially when security and terrorist threats are present…We are pleased that Egypt is ready to lift the state of emergency soon and replace it with an anti-terrorist law that is compatible with respect for fundamental rights and personal dignity” .
There has been a state of emergency in Egypt since 1981. The Egyptian minister for legal affairs, Moufid Chehab indicated in August that the state of emergency would be abolished at the end of June this year. (F.B.)