EU wants reform but stops short of calling on Mubarak to resign

EU ministers, afraid that extremists could take over in Egypt, have called for democratic reforms in the country, paving the way for free and fair elections but have not demanded that President Hosni Mubarak resigns.

The big three EU countries were divided on a response, with Germany wanting to say that the 82-year-old president should leave office as the demonstrators, now in their eighth day on the streets, are demanding.

But France was more interested in calling for elections while Britain, following the line of the United States, favoured calling for more time and space to be given to the regime that the US supports with huge sums of money and military aid.

Germany’s foreign minister and vice chancellor, Guido Westerwelle, told his fellow ministers at yesterday’s meeting in Brussels that “it is good that the genie of democracy is out of the bottle” and added that they must hope they do not get a government contrary to “our values”.

All fear the consequences for stability in the region to which Mubarak’s regime has been vital. He is seen by Israel as their prime ally.

EU foreign affairs chief Cathy Ashton said she would be going to the region in two weeks’ time and had not yet decided what countries would be included in her trip other than Tunisia.

“We are not asking for President Mubarak to step down. We are calling for him to open frank and open dialogue with civil society and the opposition.” she said, which would pave the way for fair and free elections.

She added that the opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was a “credible alternative” as he appeared to play a leading role in the opposition.

The statement following the ministers’ meeting called on the authorities to “embark on an orderly transition through a broad-based government”.