Human rights doubts could hit Egypt deal

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 08/06/06

Disagreements between Egypt and the EU on human rights could block a deal to boost trade and political ties when the two sides meet next week.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit will travel to Luxembourg on Tuesday (13 June) where he will meet EU representatives to discuss the document.

With just days to go before that meeting, diplomats have expressed doubts that a deal can be done on time.

Controversy surrounds proposals to set up a committee on human rights which would discuss abuses and reform.

Cairo has objected to proposals that the committee would deal with specific instances, preferring to focus on broader issues.

The EU has so far refused to set any pre-conditions for the talks.

Sources said the Egyptian government was concerned that the committee could become a forum for the EU to press the government to release opposition figures such as Ayman Nour.

Nour was in December 2005 sentenced to five years in prison for electoral fraud, shortly after he challenged Hosni Mubarak in September's presidential elections, when he came second.

The EU saw his arrest as politically motivated.

The discussions come against a backdrop of continued tension in Egypt as the government faces increasingly vocal calls for reform.

This tension now appears to be filtering through to the EU's talks with Egypt.

The two sides began drafting an action plan in September 2005.

There are also disagreements over weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

In similar agreements with other countries the EU has insisted on clauses tightening up rules on WMD.

But human rights remain the biggest obstacle.

The EU is also insisting that Mubarak's government lift the state of emergency which gives the Egyptian authorities the power to detain suspects without trial. The law also bans most forms of protest and allows suspects to be tried in military courts.

The emergency law has been in place since 1981 and has often been used to clamp down on opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mubarak promised to lift the law upon re-election but has so far failed to do so.

Article reports that disagreements between Egypt and the EU on human rights could block the conclusion on the EU-Egypt European Neighbourhood Policy Action plan, a deal to boost trade and political ties, when the two sides were to meet in Luxembourg on 13 June 2006.

EEAS: Countries: Egypt http://www.eeas.europa.eu/egypt/index_en.htm

EU: EEAS: European Neighbourhood Policy http://eeas.europa.eu/topics/european-neighbourhood-policy-enp_en

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