Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt slammed European Union’s failure to condemn the military coup that ousted president Mohammad Mursi.

Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt slammed European Union’s failure to condemn  the military coup that ousted president Mohammad Mursi.

Freedom and Justice Party “has expressed its surprise and condemnation of the official position of the European Union, which did not ... condemn the military coup that denied the Egyptian people their right to choose their president, their parliament, and their constitution," the party said.

The bloc’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met senior pro-Morsi figures during her visit to Cairo on Wednesday, including former premier Hisham Qandil and representatives from the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing.

Mursi's overthrow has deeply divided Egypt, between those who back the army's decision to topple the country's first democratically elected president on July 3 after massive nationwide protests, and his supporters who say the move was an affront to democracy.

Ashton also met Egypt's new leaders and members of Tamarod, the grass-roots movement behind the mass protests that led to Mursi's ouster, and said the EU wanted Egypt to move "swiftly" towards an inclusive democratic process that engaged all factions.

Her visit came a day after Egypt's new 34-member cabinet was sworn in by interim President Adly Mansour.

Both the Muslim Brotherhood and the main Salafist party Al-Nour spurned calls to join the new administration, which the Brotherhood has rejected as illegitimate.
Ashton regretted that she was not able to meet Mursi, who has been held in custody since the military toppled him, and added her voice to those calling for his release, including the United States and Germany.