Egypt - European Union participation negotiations continue today

A new round of participation negotiations between Egypt and the European Union will start in Brussels today.

The chairman of the Egyptian delegation, ambassador Gamal Baioumi, said before leaving Cairo that the talks will resume where they left off after the previous meeting, adding that they will focus on the obstacles which stand in the way of signing the participation agreement.

The participation agreement is faced by customs objections to the condition presented by Egypt for importing some meats from Europe.

The recent period saw European efforts headed by the chairman of the European Commission, Jacques Santer, during his February meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to solve the disputes between Egypt and the European Union.

The European Union is considered Egypt's biggest commercial partner, accounting for more than 40% of Egypt's foreign trade.

The volume of commercial exchange between Egypt and the E.U. reached $6.3 billion in 1997.