N. Farandouris for Sinai Monastery: No partnership without respect for religious freedomtranslated

"Egypt is an allied country and an important partner of Greece and the European Union. This relationship, however, like any corporate or alliance relationship, presupposes a basic guarantee of the rule of law and respect for religious freedom and the world's cultural and religious heritage. Europe cannot remain silent." This is what MEP Nikolas Farandouris stated in an interview with R/S SKAI 100.3 regarding the written question submitted today by the four PASOK MEPs regarding the need for European Union intervention in relation to the ownership status of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai.

Earlier, the four PASOK MEPs with their joint written question to the European Commission asked for intervention in view of the imminent final hearing of the case regarding the ownership status of the Monastery before the Egyptian Court of Cassation on August 23.

"We express serious concerns regarding the recognition of the legal personality of the Monastery, the refusal to date of state recognition of its duly elected Archbishop and Abbot by the Egyptian Authorities and hence the impossibility...