According to Marc Franco, head of the European Union delegation to Egypt, Europe supports the democratic transformation in Egypt after the 25 January Revolution which toppled Mubarak and his regime.

During a press conference on Thursday, Franco stressed that the EU will monitor Egypt's upcoming elections only through NGOs in Egypt and the media. He voiced his hopes that the elections be held with integrity, maintaining he believed that civil society and the media should be allowed to carry out their roles. He added however, any further involvement would be the Egyptian government’s call.

Franco explained that the additional assistance of nearly 1.5 billion Euros allocated to Egypt and neighbouring countries is intended to support democratic transformation in the region.

Referring to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood coming to power, Franco ascertained that progress towards democracy and the respect of freedoms and human rights was the criteria for greater cooperation with the EU.

He called for the establishment of strong capable political parties which would candidly express the wills and the wishes of the Egyptians in parliament. Undoubtedly he added, Egypt will make greater progress towards democracy once the parliamentary and presidential elections are held.