EU leaders this afternoon called for an orderly transition of power in Egypt and emphasised that this should “start now”.

In a declaration agreed by all the 27 EU member states, the EU called on the Egyptian authorities to meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people with political reform not repression.

“All parties should show restraint and avoid further violence and begin an orderly transition to a broad based government,” EU leaders declared.

“The European Council underlines that this transition must start now,” implicating that the position taken recently by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave in September may not be acceptable to the EU.

“The European Council emphasises that the citizens’ democratic aspirations should be addressed through dialogue and political reform with full respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and through free and fair elections. The EU calls on all parties to engage in meaningful dialogue to that end,” the EU’s declaration states.