The European Union [EU] has promised to fund groups monitoring the upcoming presidential elections, reports Mustafa El-Menshawy The EU has allocated six million euros "to help guarantee a fair and free vote", said Nicola Bellomo, the EU Egypt delegation's first secretary for human rights and civil society. Bellomo told Al-Ahram Weekly that some groups -- including the National Coalition for Election Monitoring -- have already submitted proposals to the delegation. Although coalition officials refused to disclose the amount they asked for, they did express their disappointment that the EU's response to the proposals might only emerge as late as August, only a few weeks before the presidential vote. Mohamed Zarie, whose group -- the Human Rights Centre for Assistance of Prisoners (HRCAP) -- is a member of the coalition, said the European aide would probably not amount to more than $250,000. Zarie was livid about the lack of domestic support for his group's attempts to observe the first presidential elections in Egypt's history. "We appealed to big businessmen and large local companies, even urging them to provide us with their own products -- things like mobile phones, cars or fast food that could help us facilitate the job of monitoring elections. They all refused to offer any help whatsoever," Zarie told the Weekly. "None of these companies wanted to jeopardise their relationship with the government." He said the coalition was thus forced to approach foreign parties like USAID and the European Union for support. "And they responded vigorously, something which we really appreciate," said Zarie. Like with the Europeans, the exact figure to be provided by USAID remains up in the air. Zarie dismissed allegations that foreign aid meant foreign interference in Egypt's internal affairs. "Doesn't the government get money from abroad to support its programmes?" he asked. Reports emerged earlier this month concerning the EU providing Egypt's state-owned television $31 million in grant money to boost freedom of expression in the lead up to this fall's elections. Officials from both the EU and the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) denied the existence of such grants. Ibrahim El-Aqabawi, acting ERTU president, said, "we believe in the importance of providing equal opportunities for all presidential candidates to present their messages to the public in the lead up to the election, but we are not involved in receiving money from the EU for this purpose." The EU's Bellomo also said he was not aware of any such grant.
