Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Politics, said though Egypt's January 25 Revolution was praised by people around the globe, recent events have left many worried about the future of Egypt. Her comments were made yesterday at a plenary session of the European Parliament, held in Brussels. Ashton added that recent violent events should be an incentive to negotiate with Egyptian officials like Al-Azhar, the country's leading Islamic authority. She also said that since these actions had a greater goal of spreading democracy, a greater effort to protect human rights and speed up the process towards free elections are necessary. The European Parliament also decided to discuss EU policy regarding the continued instability in Egypt, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.
