EU renews its support for a political solution in Egypt

Hours after the presidency stated that diplomatic efforts to solve the political crisis in Egypt have failed, the European Union announced on Wednesday that they are continuing their efforts to resolve the crisis.

Michael Mann, the spokesperson of the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that he had no prior knowledge of the Egyptian presidency’s statement, adding that Bernardino Leon, the European Union Special Representative, is currently in Egypt taking part in mediation efforts.

Diplomats and political figures from the EU and the United States, as well as a number of Arab countries, have been present in Egypt for the last ten days working towards an understanding between the Armed Forces and the interim government on the one side, and the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies on the other.

Mann emphasized that the EU will continue to play a role in encouraging the political parties in Egypt to engage in inclusive negotiations in order to move forward with a transition to democracy.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Egyptian presidency announced the end of international diplomatic efforts to mediate in this crisis, represented by the sit-ins in Rabea al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda Square demanding the reinstatement of Morsi. The presidency described both sit-ins as breaching the peace.

Soliman Gouda, a prominent columnist, said that the government have made a fatal mistake by allowing foreign parties to interfere with what is a domestic conflict. Gouda told Mada Masr that, “The only initiative that should be adopted is the military’s July 3 initiative, which did not state the political exclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

He suggested that the Western world is against the exclusion of the Brotherhood in part because of interests in relation to Israel and the need to exert pressure on Hamas. But, Gouda, said, “Morsi has described the Israeli president, Shimon Perez as his dearest friend, something none of his predecessors ever did.”