MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Egypt
10.9.2013 - (2013/2820(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Véronique De Keyser, Libor Rouček, Pino Arlacchi, Saïd El Khadraoui, Ana Gomes, Maria Eleni Koppa, María Muñiz De Urquiza, Raimon Obiols, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Joanna Senyszyn, Boris Zala on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0411/2013
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Egypt, in particular that of 4 July 2013 on the crisis in Egypt[1],
– having regard to its resolution of 23 May 2013 on asset recovery to Arab Spring countries in transition[2] ,
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 21 August and 22 July 2013 on Egypt,
– having regard to the joint statement of 18 August 2013 on Egypt by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso,
– having regard to the remarks by High Representative Catherine Ashton following the extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on Egypt of 21 August 2013, the statements of the High Representative on the situation and developments in Egypt of 14 and 16 August and of 3, 7, 8, 14, 16, 17, 27 and 30 July 2013, and the joint statement of 7 August 2013 on Egypt by the High Representative and the US Secretary of State, John Kerry,
– having regard to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, of the other part, of 2001, which entered into force in 2004,
– having regard to the Co-Chairs’ conclusions of the EU-Egypt Task Force meeting of 14 November 2012,
– having regard to Egypt’s Constitutional Declaration of 8 July 2013,
– having regard to the ‘Programme to Sustain the Path to Democracy’ of the interim government of Egypt,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, to which Egypt is a party,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Egypt is an important neighbour of the Union in the southern Mediterranean; whereas the incipient democratic transition in the country has failed up to now; whereas Egypt is facing widespread violence and fundamental challenges in the fields of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; whereas political tensions have deepened internal divisions within Egyptian society;
B. whereas on 30 June 2013 millions of Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo and across the country in peaceful protests and called for the stepping-down of the country’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, who had failed to respond to their democratic aspirations; whereas large numbers of people were killed and injured in the crackdown on these demonstrations;
C. whereas on 3 July 2013, in a military coup, General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, the head of the Egyptian armed forces, announced that President Morsi had been deposed; whereas on 4 July Adly Mansour, head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the country’s interim President; whereas the interim President dissolved the upper house of Parliament on 5 July, issued a constitutional declaration on 8 July, and on 9 July appointed Mohamed El Baradei as Vice-President and Hazem El Beblawi as acting Prime Minister;
D. whereas political tensions continue to provoke violent clashes in Egypt, resulting in more than 1 000 deaths and many more people being injured since early July 2013; whereas on 14 August the Egyptian army and police cleared two sit-ins of supporters of former President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood at the Rabaa intersection and Nahda Square in Cairo, which led to the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators along with dozens of policemen and to the resignation of Vice-President El Baradei; whereas, on the same day, the interim President declared a month-long state of emergency in the country;
E. whereas in its ‘Programme to Sustain the Path to Democracy’, the interim government affirmed its commitment to ‘work both on the political and social levels towards building a democratic system, which guarantees the rights and freedoms of all Egyptians’, and to the ‘completion of the roadmap in accordance with the Constitutional Declaration ensuring the full participation of all political players’, with ‘a referendum on the new constitution, followed by free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in due time in accordance to all legislative rules’; whereas the participation of all political forces and actors, including the Muslim Brotherhood, is essential in this process; whereas, however, the Muslim Brotherhood has refused to join this process and several of its leaders have made statements inciting to violence against the state authorities and the security forces;
F. whereas former President Morsi has been detained since 3 July 2013 and has been referred for trial by the country’s state prosecutor, together with 14 other persons, including leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood, on charges of incitement to murder and violence; whereas on 3 September a military court sentenced a supporter of former President Morsi to life imprisonment for violence targeting the army, while three of his supporters were jailed for 15 years and 45 others for five years for shooting and violence against the army; whereas many members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested, including most of its leaders, and are now awaiting trial; whereas the former dictator Hosni Mubarak was released from prison on 22 August and has been under house arrest since;
G. whereas, as a result of instability and lack of security in the country, terrorist actions by militant groups are increasing in Egypt, in particular in Sinai, including the killing of 25 off-duty policemen in northern Sinai on 19 August 2013;
H. whereas an inclusive political process based on genuine national dialogue, with the meaningful participation of all democratic political forces and actors, is the only way to overcome current political and social divisions and tensions with the aim of creating deep and sustainable democracy in Egypt;
I. whereas respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, but also social justice and a higher standard of living for citizens, are crucial dimensions of the transition towards an open, free, democratic, stable and prosperous Egyptian society; whereas Egypt is facing serious economic difficulties; whereas economic prosperity in the country requires political stability, sound economic policies, action to fight corruption and international support;
J. whereas women are in a particularly vulnerable situation in the current period of transition in Egypt; whereas, according to reports by Egyptian and international human rights organisations, female protesters continue to be subject to violence, sexual assaults and other forms of degrading treatment by the security forces;
K. whereas independent trade unions and civil society organisations have a crucial role to play in this critical period of political and social transition in Egypt; whereas free and independent press and media constitute a key part of society in a genuine democracy; whereas Egyptian courts recently ordered the closure of various television channels run by or sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, going against freedom of the media and the right to information;
L. whereas, in its conclusions on Egypt of 22 July 2013, the Foreign Affairs Council declared that ‘the armed forces should not play a political role in a democracy’ and that ‘they must accept and respect the constitutional authority of civilian power as a basic principle of democratic governance’;
M. whereas, in the financial period 2007-2013, the EU has made more than EUR 1 billion available to Egypt under the European Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument; whereas the programmes currently being implemented amount to approximately EUR 892 million, with decreasing disbursement levels (in 2013 only EUR 16 million were paid up to late August owing to the ongoing instability and non-compliance with the agreed conditions); whereas since 2012 no new budget support programmes have been approved for Egypt owing to the lack of reform implementation; whereas at the November 2012 meeting of the EU-Egypt Task Force, a sum of almost EUR 5 billion was pledged by the Union and associated financial institutions (EIB and EBRD) as an additional overall package of long‑term assistance to Egypt;
N. whereas in its conclusions on Egypt of 21 August 2013 the Foreign Affairs Council tasked the High Representative, in cooperation with the Commission, with reviewing the issue of EU assistance to Egypt under the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Association Agreement, on the basis of Egypt’s commitment to the principles that underpin them; whereas the Member States decided to suspend export licences to Egypt for any equipment which might be used for internal repression, to reassess export licences for other military equipment, and to review their security assistance to Egypt;
O. whereas partnership with societies, an incentives-based approach and the principle of ‘more for more’, and possibly ‘less for less’, are cornerstones of the EU’s revised European Neighbourhood Policy; whereas Article 2 of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement declares that ‘relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect of democratic principles and fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement’;
1. Expresses its concern at the political developments in Egypt; regrets the military coup of 3 July 2013, followed by the transfer of power to an interim President and an acting Prime Minister; believes that the only way to build deep and sustainable democracy in Egypt is through national reconciliation and an inclusive political process, with the participation of all democratic political forces and actors, which should lead as soon as possible to a new constitution to be adopted by referendum, free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections, a democratically elected civilian-led government, and the release of all political detainees; urges all political forces and actors in Egypt to engage, and play a constructive role, in this process;
2. Condemns the disproportionate use of force by security forces against protesters, in particular during the dispersal of the Rabaa and Nahda Square sit-ins; expresses its condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the recent incidents; calls for impartial and credible investigations into these events and for those responsible to be held to account; notes the recent announcement by acting Prime Minister El Beblawy that an independent committee consisting of public figures will be established to investigate the dispersal of the Rabaa and Nahda Square sit-ins;
3. Urges all political actors and security forces to show the utmost restraint and avoid provocation, with the aim of avoiding further violence in the best interests of the country; reminds the interim President, the interim government and the Egyptian army of their obligation to ensure the security of all citizens in the country regardless of their political views and affiliation; condemns all acts of terrorism, incitement, violence and hate speech; urges the Muslim Brotherhood to contribute to reconciliation efforts; calls for the lifting of the state of emergency without delay;
4. Calls on the interim government to protect and promote full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedoms of expression and speech, freedom of the media, freedom of religion, conscience and thought, and women’s rights, and to ensure the right to a fair trial for all, the protection of minorities, and non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation; believes that any ban, exclusion or prosecution directed against a democratic political force or actor in Egypt would repeat past mistakes and would only lead to increased radicalism;
5. Calls for an immediate end to all acts of violence, sexual assault and other forms of degrading treatment against female protesters and women’s rights activists, for serious and impartial investigations into all such cases, and for those responsible to be brought to justice;
6. Stresses once more the importance of the contribution of civil society, trade unions and the media to building deep and sustainable democracy in Egypt; calls on the interim government to guarantee that domestic and international civil society organisations, independent trade unions and journalists can operate freely, without government interference, in the country; supports the decision of the Foreign Affairs Council of 21 August 2013 that, in the light of the negative impact of the economic situation on the most vulnerable groups of Egyptian society, EU assistance in the socio-economic sector and to civil society will continue;
7. Condemns the recent acts of violence against the Coptic community, including the destruction of a number of churches and community centres across the country; urges the Egyptian government to ensure that this community can continue to be an important part of Egypt’s social fabric and that peaceful coexistence with other religious communities is quickly restored;
8. Urges the Union to take into consideration both the principle of conditionality (‘more for more’, and possibly ‘less for less’) and the serious economic challenges Egypt is facing in its bilateral relations with and its financial support to the country; welcomes the recent decision of the Foreign Affairs Council to suspend export licences to Egypt for any equipment which might be used for internal repression;
9. Welcomes and supports the efforts of High Representative / Vice-President Catherine Ashton and Special Representative Bernardino León to mediate between the parties with the aim of brokering a way out of the current political crisis in Egypt, and encourages them to continue on this path of proactive and constructive engagement aimed at assisting the country in the process of reconciliation;
10. Takes note of the findings of the special report of the European Court of Auditors of 18 June 2013 on ‘EU cooperation with Egypt in the field of governance’, and calls for action to ensure greater transparency and accountability concerning the way EU funding is spent in Egypt, with special regard to projects fostering civil society and protecting minorities and women’s rights;
11. Reiterates its call for the establishment without delay of an EU mechanism to provide legal and technical assistance to Arab Spring countries in the process of asset recovery, as mentioned in its resolution of 23 May 2013 but delayed because of the turmoil in Egypt; stresses once more that facilitating the return of assets stolen by former dictators and their regimes is a moral imperative for the EU; believes that asset recovery is a highly political issue by reason of its symbolic value and can make a major contribution to restoring accountability, creating stability and building solid institutions in the spirit of democracy and the rule of law in the partner countries concerned;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative / Vice President, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, and the interim President and interim government of Egypt.
- [1] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0333.
- [2] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0224.