Source: European Parliament
Freedom of religion or belief remains high on the EU’s international human rights agenda, in line with EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief[1].
The Commission is aware of the situation of Bahá’í community in Egypt and is in contact with the Baha’i community in Brussels and in Cairo. Freedom of religion or belief was an important subject in EU Special Representative for Human Rights Skoog’s visit to Egypt on 4-5 November 2024, where he raised with government officials the situation and the administrative challenges faced by the Bahá’í[2]. The Commission will continue supporting Egypt’s national institutions and civil society through cooperation programmes to implement Egypt’s Human Rights Strategy and Universal Periodic Review recommendations.
Overall, human rights remain a priority in the EU’s relationship with Egypt. The Association Agreement and the Partnership Priorities mutually agreed in June 2022[3] define the political framework for the EU’s bilateral relations with Egypt, where both parties commit to ‘further promote democracy, fundamental freedoms, and human rights, gender equality and equal opportunities’. This is also referenced in the Joint declaration of the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership[4]. In the context of the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership with Egypt, macro-financial assistance requires that ‘Egypt continues to make concrete and credible steps towards respecting effective democratic mechanisms, the rule of law, and guarantees respect for human rights’.
- [1] https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11491-2013-INIT/en/pdf .
- [2] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/egypt/eu-special-representative-human-rights-mission-egypt_en?s=95 .
- [3] https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-2803-2022-ADD-1/en/pdf .
- [4] https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/joint-declaration-strategic-and-comprehensive-partnership-between-arab-republic-egypt-and-european-2024-03-17_en .