EU to urgently review relations with Egypt

The European Union (EU) will "urgently review" in the coming days its relations with Egypt, according to a joint statement Sunday.

The statement, which was posted on the EU official website on Sunday, was jointly made by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso.

According to Xinhua, together with its member states, the EU will adopt measures aiming to promote an end to Egypt violence, resumption of political dialogue and return to a democratic process, it says.

As deadly clashes showed no sign of ending in Egypt, in cooperation with its international and regional partners, the EU will remain firmly engaged in efforts to do so.

In the statement, the two EU leaders called on all sides in Egypt, particularly the interim government and the Egyptian army, to exert "maximum" restraint and end violence immediately.

"Further escalation must be prevented. It could have unpredictable consequences for Egypt and for its broader neighborhood," it said.

Top officials from EU's 28 members will meet Monday to review the crisis in Egypt.

The EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Friday that she had asked member state representatives to debate and coordinate "appropriate measures" in response to violence in Egypt.