The Guardian view on Egypt and Europe: embracing authoritarianism

The summit of the EU and the Arab League in Sharm el-Sheikh highlights the ongoing and ill-advised support for President Sisi

Sun 24 Feb 2019 18.37 GMT

Last modified on Sun 24 Feb 2019 18.51 GMT

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 ‘Abdel Fatah al-Sisi mus

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ays after Egypt executed men who said they were tortured into confessions of killing the country’s former top prosecutor, Europe’s heads of state are enjoying the hospitality of its president. The resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is hosting the inaugural summit of the European Union and the Arab League. Donald Tusk, president of the European council, is co-chairing with Abdel Fatah al-Sisi; Britain’s Theresa May is among the guests.

If the event itself is a first, the approach is familiar. As Mr Sisi entrenches his rule, presiding over what Human Rights Watch calls Egypt’s worst human rights crisis in decades, European countries murmur about their “quiet diplomacy” on such issues. Then they carry on building ties and providing the air of international legitimacy that he needs given his grim record since seizing power in 2013’s coup. Mr Sisi’s recent spate of executions is instructive: he must have felt confident there would be no repercussions for putting people to death so close to the summit – despite their blatantly unfair trials.

Political dissent is suppressed through disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests. Sami Anan, the former military chief who tried to stand against Mr Sisi in last year’s sham election, has just been jailed. Human rights defenders and labour activists are harassed and prosecuted, journalists detained and barred, the work of NGOs drastically curbed. Constitutional changes now going through parliament would allow Mr Sisi to stay in power until 2034, grant new political powers to the military, and increase presidential control of the judiciary. Once approved by legislators, they will face a referendum that promises to be as free and fair as the polls which Mr Sisi swept last year with 97% of the vote.

But EU leaders see Mr Sisi’s regime as a rare source of stability in the region, even if his actions are feeding long-term pressures. Emmanuel Macron applauds Egypt as a bulwark against terrorism while reminding Mr Sisi, sotto voce, about the need for human rights to be respected. Migration is high on the agenda; though Egypt is not currently a major transit point, talks have begun on a deal that would see Cairo cut numbers in return for economic benefits – reflecting Europe’s broader willingness to have migrants trapped in squalid and dangerous conditions if it keeps them away from our shores.

France, Egypt’s main arms supplier, also has those sales to think about – and human rights are in any case dropping down the EU’s agenda. Egyptians deserve and expect better. The constitutional coup now under way removes even the “promise or veneer” of democratic rule, notes one Egyptian author. An increasingly autocratic ruler may well believe he does not need much support when he can coerce compliance. But his predecessors thought so, too. Corruption, inflation and unemployment as well as state brutality are fuelling frustrations. A more accurate assessment of Mr Sisi’s rule might be stability – for now. Bolstering his reign is foolish and wrong.

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