European leaders have been walking a fine line with public statements on the Egyptian uprising. Over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister David Cameron jointly called for free elections in Egypt, but also praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for being a “moderating influence” in the region, The New York Times reported.
Dovetailing with that statement, the EU foreign ministers also issued a statement (pdf) supporting free and fair elections and calling for an “orderly transition through a broadbased government leading to a genuine process of substantial democratic reform." But the minister remain concerned about what Egypt will be like at the end of that transition.
Alex Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister, told the Times: “It is values versus interests. On the values side we want democracy, freedom and human rights. On the interest side we don’t know what we will get. We want stability – we don’t know what is stable – is it the current regime? The EU’s current answer is ‘no.”’
