EU, Egypt review ongoing cooperation, future priorities

Stefan Fule, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, has met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, and discussed the priorities for the future in the context of the transition process in Egypt, the European bloc said Thursday.

According to the EU press release announcing the meeting, Fule and Fahmy also used the occasion to review the state of on-going cooperation between the European Commission and Egypt.

Fule reiterated the European Commission's intention to support Egypt and its people, in particular with a view to improving the socio-economic situation of the population, addressing the needs of the poorest and tackling pressing structural issues that are hampering growth and investment, in line with council conclusions of Foreign Affairs Council of 21 August 2013.

"In this context, the Commissioner and the Minister discussed how to improve the implementation of EU funded projects so that they would meet their mutually agreed objectives while respecting the EU financial regulations. They agreed on the need to ensure that a focus should be put on capacity building activities for the preparation of structural reforms towards more inclusive sustainable growth and good governance. They also discussed the priorities for bilateral cooperation during 2014-2015," the press release read.