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Egypt will receive less than USD 1 bn in US military aid this year: The new chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin (Democrat), has withheld the entire USD 320 mn of human rights-contingent military aid destined for Egypt following the indictment of previous chair Senator Bob Menendez over allegedly accepting bribes to covertly aid the country. “My hold on current funds will remain until specific human rights progress is made,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Remember: Some USD 320 mn of the USD 1.3 bn the US gives to Egypt in military aid each year is contingent on our making improvements in our rights record. Of that, USD 85 mn is tied to releasing political prisoners, ensuring due process, and preventing the intimidation of US citizens. The other USD 235 mn is linked to other democracy and human rights requirements and can be overruled by the government on national security grounds.
Cairo was due to receive three-quarters of the sum: The Biden administration last month decided to allow Egypt to receive USD 235 mn of the aid, withholding the remaining USD 85 mn on human rights concerns.
The Biden administration is trying to find a workaround: “We’re going to continue to engage closely with not only the Egyptian government, but also Congress, about how these funds will be used,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday.
ALSO- European Parliament weighs in on Egypt election: European MPs last week called on Egypt to hold “credible, free and fair elections” and accused authorities of harassing the campaign staff of leftist presidential hopeful Ahmed El Tantawy. In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, the European Parliament also called for the release of opposition figure and high-profile publisher Hisham Kassem, who was last month sentenced to six months in jail for allegedly insulting a former minister and verbally assaulting policemen.
Egyptian MPs weren’t happy: In a statement, the House accused the Europeans of an “unjustified and desperate” attempt to interfere in the election, and called the resolution “lacking credibility and neutrality.” It said that the call to release Kassem was an “objectionable attempt to pressure the Egyptian judiciary” and denied that members of Tantawy’s campaign had been arrested.
