4th EU-Egypt Association Council held in Luxembourg, 28 April
Government ministers and officials from Egypt and the European Union met at the 4th Association Council on 28 April in Luxembourg to review EU-Egypt relations and progress made under the Association Agreement and the year-old European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan, as well as to discuss international issues, including developments in the Middle East. The Egyptian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. Senior officials from the Slovenian foreign ministry, as Presidency of the EU, and France (which takes over the Presidency in July 2008) were present at the meeting, along with the EU’s High Representative Javier Solana and the European Commission’s Member in charge of External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
The EU-Egypt Association Council was conducted in a friendly and open-minded manner, Slovenian EU Council President, State Secretary Matjaž Šinkovec, has said. Describing Egypt as a key regional partner of the EU in the Mediterranean and Middle East, he said the EU is consequently paying considerable attention to its relationship with this country.
The high-level meeting was the fourth of its kind since the start of the EU’s Association Agreement with Egypt in 2004, and the first since the two sides agreed the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for intensified co-operation in the political, economic, trade and social domains a year ago. Progress during the first year of the Action Plan was welcomed by the EU and Egypt. The EU’s move to create a Mediterranean Union with its southern partners was also discussed with the Egyptian delegation.
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