A meeting in Cairo: uh… in September, that suits you?
« A date this week? Oh no impossible, let's see, let's see... Our agenda is very full for February. And we cannot receive foreign personalities. Remind us next month This is essentially the response that was made by the Egyptian authorities (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to their European counterpart, Cathy Ashton, who wanted to go to Cairo, in the wake of her visit to Tunis. A response that badly hides a snub to European diplomacy which is struggling as best it can to "stall" a visit for its leader. " It's quite incomprehensible commented a senior European diplomat who confided in the press (yesterday). " The EU is Egypt's biggest partner. The High Representative has the mandate of the 27. If so, that means (a refusal) for all of Europe ».
Egyptians show their bad mood
Are the High Representative's latest statements the reason for this refusal? Or on the contrary his lack of insurance? What seems likely is that the Egyptian authorities do not seem to appreciate the foreign intrusion and have other fish to fry. Rebuffing (a little) the High Representative is part of this logic. Especially since they seem to have little appreciated being reduced to the rank of a "supplementary" visit to that of Tunis. And the Egyptians no doubt grasped all the European complexity; receiving an envoy from Brussels does not automatically mean coaxing, London, Paris or Berlin.
A worrying erasure.
On the European side, there is concern about this lack of appetite on the part of the Egyptian authorities. But we also call into question the double game of the diplomacies of the Member States. " When other ministers rush to other capitals, we are faced with a considerable difficulty. How many people are there in the Middle East today? (NB: Wednesday) Can the High Representative go there the day after a visit by a European Minister? » And to add: Not everyone really understood the new deal represented by the Lisbon Treaty. (...) We must not just speak with one voice, we must act with one voice. And to identify the difficult position in which the High Representative is.
This attitude and this comment illustrate, in my opinion, the difficulty of the new post of High Representative of the Treaty of Lisbon. Structural difficulty: how to be both chief diplomat (therefore discreet), head of ministers and independent commissioner (therefore rather loud-mouthed). Cyclical difficulty: how Cathy Ashton can impose herself in relation to "loud mouths" like Sarkozy, Frattini, Bildt... who will always do as they please. I will come back...
