Greek MEPs raise concerns with European Commission over St Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai

Four PASOK Members of the European Parliament submitted a new joint written question to the European Commission on August 19 concerning developments surrounding the historic Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai.

The initiative was taken by MEPs Giannis Maniatis, Nikos Papandreou, Sakis Arnaoutoglou and Nikolas Farantouris, ahead of the expected final hearing before Egypt’s Court of Cassation on August 23 regarding the Monastery’s property status.

In their parliamentary intervention, the four MEPs raise serious concerns over the recognition of the Monastery’s legal personality, as well as what they describe as the Egyptian authorities’ failure to date to grant state recognition to its canonically elected Archbishop and Abbot.

According to the MEPs, these issues could prevent the Monastery from securing effective legal representation before the courts and adequately protecting its historic property rights.

They underline that the developments come at a time when the European Union is deepening its strategic partnership with Egypt and has issued a positive assessment of the country in relation to the rule of law and human rights.

Against this backdrop, the four PASOK…