EU leaders call for transition in Egypt to start now

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders called on Egyptian authorities to meet the aspirations of their people with "reform not repression" on Friday and said the transfer of power to a broad-based government must begin immediately.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton is expected to head to Cairo in the coming days to meet Vice President Omar Suleiman and examine how Europe can support the transition process, including preparations for free and fair elections.

"The European Council is following with utmost concern the deteriorating situation in Egypt," the bloc's 27 leaders said in a joint statement issued during a summit in Brussels.

"All parties should show restraint and avoid further violence and begin an orderly transition to a broad-based government," the statement said.

"This transition process must start now."

Ashton spoke to Suleiman by phone on Thursday, with part of the conversation focused on changes to Egypt's constitution. The constitution, drawn up in 1980, has to be changed before free and fair elections can be held, diplomats said.

In their statement, EU leaders condemned those encouraging violence against protesters -- a reference to President Hosni Mubarak's supporters -- and said intimidation and aggression toward journalists was unacceptable.

Mubarak, in office for 30 years, has said he does not intend to run in a presidential election scheduled for September. EU diplomats say that is too far away and want to see a transition earlier, although they have not set any time frames.

While they want to see the creation of a broad-based government, they are also wary of Mubarak being immediately ousted or resigning, which could lead to a power vacuum that is filled by more violence or by religious militancy.

"We have been clear that Egypt should be taking steps to show there is a clear, credible transparent path toward transition," British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters as he arrived at the summit in Brussels.

"Above all, the message is this: If we see on the streets of Cairo today state-sponsored violence or the hiring of thugs to beat up protesters, Egypt and its regime would lose any remaining credibility and support it has in the eyes of the watching world, including Britain."

EU ROLE

Ashton said she understood Egypt was moving toward a process of "national dialogue," with opposition groups getting a hearing from Mubarak's government.

"We've been very clear in everything that we've said that it is for the Egyptian people and the Egyptian government to move forward together," Ashton told reporters on Friday.

"It's absolutely essential that we see the movement that is necessary to make people feel in Egypt confident that there is a plan in place, and this again is what I discussed with Vice President Suleiman."

EU leaders want to increase trade and investment in Egypt and help strengthen democratic institutions as part of their efforts to support any peaceful transition, while also assisting preparations for an election in the months ahead.

The EU provides around 150 million euros of assistance to Egypt a year, far short of the $2 billion from Washington.

The United States, long the ally and sponsor of 82-year-old Mubarak and his military, is working behind the scenes with a proposal for the president to step aside and be replaced by an interim government led by Suleiman, the New York Times reported.

Street protests continued in Egypt on Friday, with tens of thousands of people gathered in Cairo for an 11th day of demonstrations calling for Mubarak to go. Violent clashes with Mubarak loyalists subsided on Friday, witnesses said, and the mood in Tahrir Square was described as festive.

(Additional reporting by Bate Felix and Eva Dou; editing by Andrew Roche)