Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the European Union's support for partnership, reforms and inclusive growth and the impact that it is having in consolidating democratic reform and institution-building in Egypt.

The EU has made considerable efforts to support political transition in Egypt since 2011, through its European Neighbourhood Policy and “Support for Partnership, Reforms and Inclusive Growth” (SPRING) funding.

In their report on the 2014 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) package, ‘Neighbourhood at a Crossroads: Taking Stock of a Year of Challenges' issued in March 2014, the European External Access Service and Commission found that no significant progress had been made towards the current ENP action plan in 2013 and most of the recommendations made in last year's report were still relevant. It found that Egypt needed to make improvements in key areas, such as to ensure the constitution is implemented with full respect for human rights, create conditions for an active civil society, and ensure the protection of women's rights and gender equality. Since this report the EU also provided an Election Observation Mission to monitor Presidential elections in May 2014.

An initial amount of €90 million was allocated in 2011-12 to Egypt from the EU's SPRING funds, part of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). Subsequent political and human rights developments meant that no further funding from this mechanism was allocated to Egypt at that time.