Islam versus Europe

Idiot Barroso, so-called president of the European Commission, went to Egypt last Thursday and didn't say a word about the oppressed Christians. Like a good dhimmi, however, he did promise the Egyptians lots of nice new jizya money.

Here are some extracts from his speech. If you want to read the full thing, there's a transcript here.

As President of the European Commission, I am proud that the European Union was the first to react with details of concrete support for Egypt’s transition to democracy. This is part of our wider Neighbourhood Policy – a policy predicated on the idea that human rights and democracy are the best basis for inclusive growth and shared prosperity.

With new thinking and new money in hand, it is time to take action focused around money, mobility and market access.

Our financial commitments will rise to €7 billion in the coming three years for our neighbourhood, with another €6 billion in loans available. Much of this will come from the European Investment Bank, whose President Philippe Maystadt is joining me on this trip. The bank is the biggest development lender in North Africa. Already there are nine Egyptian projects in the pipeline for the coming 12 month, worth well over €1 billion.

This sits within the overall package of €20bn agreed at the G8 in May. Egypt is in a good position to access these amounts, as it is a leading country in the path to democracy.

...These priorities are embodied in three examples I want to share today.

The first one is a programme that the European Commission is preparing entitled "SPRING" (Support for Partnership, Reform, and Inclusive Growth). This programme will be launched in September with an initial amount of 350 million euros in grants and will have a specific focus on democratization and economic growth and thus address core issues of the transition. It is our intention to extend this to 500 million euros for the period 2011-2013.

Next is the European Endowment for Democracy. The details are still to be finalized, but this endowment will be a beacon of hope; a new independent body dedicated to helping people find their authentic democratic voices.

Finally, the European Union will massively increase support for the participation of Egypt and other partner countries in our Erasmus and Marie Curie education programmes. Overall there will be a 40% increase in funds starting from September 2011. 750 additional students will win life-changing scholarships that further enrich the links between us.

The EU is also proposing to establish Partnerships with a few selected Southern Mediterranean countries. One of those countries is Egypt. We want to allow for Egypt’s young people to have the chance to travel and study in Europe, for businessman to trade, for artists to interact. The Mediterranean must be a sea that unites us and not separates us.

...Europe is united with you throughout this journey. We have a common destiny, that of a Euro-Mediterranean Community based on Democracy and Shared Prosperity.