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Middle East and North Africa

EU foreign policy chief calls for “appropriate measures” to stabilize situation in Egypt

She actually confirmed reports that EU Foreign Minister Council will hold an extraordinary meeting next week

BRUSSELS, August 16 (Itar-Tass) - European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has called on EU foreign ministers to discuss "appropriate measures" that the European Union could take to stabilize the situation in Egypt.

"I have been in constant touch with European Union foreign ministers, and I have asked member state representatives to debate and coordinate appropriate measures to be taken by the European Union in response to the situation in Egypt," she said in a statement on Friday.

She said the death toll in Egypt was shocking and added that responsibility for the tragedy "weighs heavily on the interim government, as well as on the wider political leadership in the country."

She actually confirmed reports that EU Foreign Minister Council will hold an extraordinary meeting next week to discuss the situation in Egypt. The date has not yet been fixed but it was decided that the EU foreign policy committee would have a technical meeting on August 19 to exchange views of action that could be taken to stabilize the situation in Egypt.

According to European experts, the European Union has very few tools to influence the situation in Egypt. More to it, EU countries have differences in the assessment of the causes and possible consequences of the current development in that country.

In the meantime, sources in NATO say the alliance has no plans to call extraordinary consultations on the situation in Egypt, neither it has plans to use force scenarios in that country.

Data about the death toll from the violence in Egypt are varying. Moslem Brotherhood says the clashes have claimed up to 2,500 human lives, while independent sources put the number of victims at about 600.

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