EU's response to the events in Egypt: a factual and little analytical overview

I have very little time these days, so I apologize for the prolonged silence. I finished a briefing on EU's response to the events in Egypt. It is rather factual, but I find it useful to get a sense of how things are getting done in Brussels.

EU27 RESPONSE

The EU27 response to the events in Egypt has been rather weak and belated. January 25 was a turning point for the success of the demonstrations in Egypt. However, the first official statement that the High Representative Catherine Ashton had did not surface before January 27 and offered little in comparison to the proportion of the demonstrations. She only called for the Egyptian authorities to respect the rights of citizens to demonstrate. She was a bit more forthcoming in a statement the following day. Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the EU Council, was more forthcoming in his position as he explicitly requested then President Mubarak to live up to his promises of openness.

Following a trend that has been unfolding since Catherine Ashton took office, she waited for the approval of the Member states to be more assertive. They met on January 31^st. The statement that came out of the meeting asked for: the release of all “peaceful demonstrators,” an end to the violence, and a subtle call for reform – the word “reform” was still not used. It could be deemed surprising, because the Council conclusions were far clearer and followed the same line that the Obama administration had been favoring, that is “an orderly transition through a broad-based government leading to a genuine process of substantial democratic reform.” In addition, the Member states indicated that the EU stood ready to help to carry out reform. Before the European Parliament, Ashton called a few days later for broad transformation and free and fair elections.

On February 2, the European Commission issued its first communiqué. It also called for an orderly transition, free and fair elections, and a respect for democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. It reiterated the EU’s proposal for assistance.

Reportedly, the first time that Ashton talked to the Egyptian government occurred on February 3 when she had a phone conversation with then Vice President Omar Suleiman. She told him to implement an orderly transition and to ensure that law enforcement agencies protect citizens and their right to demonstrate.

On February 4, heads of state and government were convened in Council. Both on Tunisia and Egypt, they tasked Ashton: