Italy supports Egypt's Mubarak but urges reform

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday that a sudden, dramatic change of government in Egypt would lead to chaos in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, where President Hosni Mubarak had played a key stabilizing role.

Frattini, speaking to foreign journalists, said the situation in Egypt was completely different from that in Tunisia, where a wave of street protests toppled the president earlier this month.

Egyptian police fought for a third day on Thursday against protesters, inspired by the events in Tunisia, who are trying to oust Mubarak.

"The situation in Egypt is different," Frattini said. "There are civil liberties. It is not a copy of the European model but we are not colonizers of any country, we must not impose our model."

Frattini urged support for Mubarak but also reforms, in an echo of U.S. policy toward its key ally.

"The stability of Egypt is fundamental for the entire Mediterranean," Frattini said. "The biggest mistake would be to think of a change of leadership without having a solution, a proposal, a proper development of the situation. This certainly would lead to chaos," he added.

"We must help the Egyptian leadership to gradually expand the enjoyment of civil liberties, the authorization of peaceful demonstrations at the same time as guaranteeing stability."

Frattini said he would propose to a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday the creation of a high-level mission to visit Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt to help strengthen democracy.

He said he would also call on the EU to formulate a plan of action to protect the rights of religious minorities, following recent attacks on Christian communities in Iraq and Egypt.

He said Europe should apply pressure to any country where religious rights were infringed and should use its development funds to encourage protection of these minorities, withdrawing aid from countries where such groups were persecuted.

(Editing by Tim Pearce)