At their extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, while keeping in mind the needs of the Egyptian people the EU Foreign Affairs Council has decided to continue providing financial assistance within the socio-economic sector to Egyptian civil society. However, the EU will monitor the situation and re-adjust its cooperation accordingly, and the Council has asked the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton to review the issue of EU assistance to Egypt within the framework of neighbour policy and the association agreement between Egypt and the EU.

The member states also agreed to suspend export licences to Egypt for any equipment which might be used for internal repression, and to review their security cooperation with Cairo. The adopted document states that the recent operations of the Egyptian security forces have been disproportionate and have resulted in an unacceptably large number of deaths and injuries.

Foreign Minister János Martonyi represented Hungary at the extraordinary meeting of the Council in Brussels. The Hungarian Foreign Minister declared that the meeting was successful because the member states were able to adopt a unified position on Egypt. He underlined that the European Union had a special role and responsibility in Egypt, because the EU is the country's most important partner in trade, investment and tourism.

János Martonyi pointed out: the fact that the EU strongly condemned the destruction of many churches and the targeting of the Coptic community was of great significance and was „a matter of principle” for Hungary and several other member states. „The Coptic community has 10-12 million members, and it seems that whenever things turn bad, they are assigned the role of the scapegoat” – said the Hungarian Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister János Martonyi claimed that although the adopted document did not state it explicitly, the EU sent a clear signal to the Egyptian government: the military should exercise self-restraint and should not use force in a disproportionate manner. „It is unacceptable to handle any political dispute or demonstration in such a manner” – Minister Martonyi stressed. He noted that the EU should not take sides in this conflict but should facilitate the finding of a political solution between the opposing parties.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)