At the seventh EU-Egypt Association Council meeting, both Egypt and the EU re-affirmed the importance of their relations and cooperation by agreeing on new partnership priorities for the next three years that will set the basis for further cooperation in areas of common interest and concern. “The partnership priorities set up a renewed framework for political engagement and enhanced cooperation…” a press release issued on Tuesday said. The identified priorities until 2020 cover three main areas: cooperating in advancing socio-economic goals set out in Egypt's “Sustainable development strategy — Vision 2030”, with a view to building a stable and prosperous Egypt; reinforcing EU and Egypt cooperation at bilateral, regional and international levels, working together on stabilising their common neighbourhood and beyond; and thirdly, enhancing stability. The Association Council meeting is an indication of a mutual will to upgrade cooperation between Egypt and the EU, said Rakha Hassan, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs. It was held at the level of foreign ministers for the first time since 2010. “The partnership provides room for negotiations in important regional issues, namely the Palestinian issue as well as the crises in Syria and Libya. Resolving these issues is likely to dry up the sources of terrorism in the region,” Hassan added. The meeting was co-chaired by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri. Mogherini and Shoukri also held a meeting on global and regional issues. Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, attended the meeting. Regional issues dominated the meeting. “The EU officials said they are looking forward to cooperating with Egypt in a number of important issues in the region including Syria, Libya, and the Qatari crisis, in addition to the Nile Basin projects that the EU implemented and the latest escalation in Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement issued Monday. Last week the EU issued a report on the previous term of partnership between the EU and Egypt during the period from January 2015 to May 2017. “As the country is faced with an increasingly complex economic, social, political and security environment, the EU is firmly committed to continue supporting Egypt in addressing current challenges based on new partnership priorities,” said the report released by the European External Action Service and the European Commission on the partnership between the EU and Egypt. From January 2015 to May 2017, the EU focused on supporting Egypt's economic, social and political development to improve the future prospects of its people and contribute to stabilisation and long-term prosperity of the country and the region. EU support was given in a wide range of critical areas including socio-economic development, education, health, energy, transport, environment, climate action, information society, research and innovation. According to the EU website, total ongoing EU financial assistance commitments to Egypt amounted to over 1.3 billion euros in grants, with around 45 per cent targeting economic and social development including employment creation; 45 per cent devoted to renewable energy, water and sanitation/waste management and environment, and 10 per cent dedicated to improving governance, human rights, justice and public administration. Shoukri headed to Brussels on Monday to attend a meeting of the Association Council, held for the first time since April 2010. Negotiations on a three-year term of the EU-Egypt partnership has been ongoing since February 2016. Shoukri visited Brussels in March to discuss launching a new phase of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the EU. He also met the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union. In this context, Shoukri and the EU compiled a document of each side's priorities to guide further negotiations on the agreement, according to an official statement released by the Foreign Ministry. An EU delegation visited Egypt the same month to continue talks on the association agreement. Priority areas were jointly agreed on in December 2016. After this week's Association Council meeting, Shoukri flew to Paris for a visit that aims to enhance Egyptian-French relations. He met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian as well as the chief of the Senate's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Armed Forces Christian Cambon and other officials to discuss cooperation in economic, military and cultural fields and regional issues. Shoukri's visit comes at an important time after the visit of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Al-Seraj to France. The talks in France centred on the visit in addition to the Egyptian decision to boycott Qatar and the possibility of resolving the issue via negotiations. It is also a chance for both Shoukri and Le Drian to coordinate their stands regarding the situation in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Egypt, France and Sweden have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the recent escalation of tension in Jerusalem. Supporting the nomination of Egyptian Ambassador Mushira Khattab for the post of UNESCO director-general was also a priority in Shoukri's visit to Paris. He met a number of UNESCO permanent representatives to gain support for Khattab's nomination.
