Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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127. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the date on which the EU-Egypt partnership priorities are due to be published and adopted; if a person's case (details supplied) was raised by his Department during the negotiations of these partnership priorities; and the way in which they will ensure that human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in Egypt will be safeguarded. [31831/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The EU and Egypt will adopt their partnership priorities for 2017-2020 at the next Association Council, which is due to take place later this year.

The case of the individual mentioned was not raised by my Department during the negotiations of these partnership priorities. Negotiations of partnership priorities are of a technical nature and I do not believe that to link these negotiations with the case of the individual mentioned would further the interests of the Irish citizen involved. The matter is being pursued bilaterally.

The proposed priorities make it clear that Human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as set out in international human rights law, the Treaty on European Union and the Egyptian Constitution – are a common value and constitute the cornerstone of a modern democratic state. They commit Egypt and the EU to promoting democracy, fundamental freedoms and human rights as constitutional rights of all citizens, in line with their international obligations.