CAIRO: Egypt has sent a delegation to participate in the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) meeting taking place in Brussels today in an effort to sound out participating member states on the direction of the policy to date and its future course.
Under the title “Working Together – Strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy , member states will exchange their ideas on trade liberalisation, mobility, and the challenges of climate change as well as energy security.
“This is a partnership of equals and it is essential that we listen carefully to the aspirations of our neighbours, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, commissioner for external relations and the ENP, said, “Where do they see their interests reflected, and where, perhaps, they still feel that there are gaps to be filled?
An EU official told Daily News Egypt that this conference is “really the European Commission listening to what our ENP partners have to say two years after the [initiation] of the policy.
“We are listening to our partners, and policy is always being shaped with them in mind, the official added.
The conference will be opened by Ferrero-Waldner, José Manuel Barroso – president of the European Commission – and Portugal’s Foreign Minister Luis Amado. Portugal currently holds the EU presidency, which rotates every six months.
Although most delegations will be headed by the member states’ foreign ministers, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit will not attend despite there being a ministerial-level morning session on the agenda.
Instead, Egypt’s delegation will be headed by Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Protocol Olfat Abdel-Fatah. The afternoon session of the conference will be attended by businessmen and NGO representatives.
The EU official said that there has been good progress and close cooperation with Egypt with regards to the ENP. The official added that the European Commission had strong commitments from Egypt regarding the environment in the Mediterranean, citing that Egypt hosted the Euro-Mediterranean environmental conference in Cairo last year.
Cooperation between Egypt and the European Commission within the ENP focus on the “sorts of interests [that] are practical and benefit both sides, the official said.
“We have set out a number of areas in which we want to further develop our relationship with our neighbors, especially with regards to trade, mobility and economic support, Ferrero-Waldner said, “This conference will underline the EU s determination to develop individual and differentiated partnership that reflects the interest of each neighbor.
Under the auspices of the European Commission, the ENP, set up in 2005, is a mode of supporting political, economic and social reform in its ten member states. Egypt has been a signatory since March 2007.
Ferrero-Waldner visited Egypt in February 2007, presenting an assistance package worth 550 million euros over four years with which to implement the EU-Egypt ENP action plan, which promoted reform in several areas such as trade, energy and agriculture.
