After Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down, infuriating demonstrators in his country, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, issued a sharp statement saying that “the time for change is now” and that Mr. Mubarak “has not yet opened the way to faster and deeper reforms.”

“I am monitoring the unfolding events in Egypt ... No matter what happens in the next hours and days, the EU stands ready to help build the deep democracy that will underpin stability for the people of Egypt,” Ashton said.

“The European Union will pay close attention to the response by the Egyptian people in the coming hours and days. The EU salutes the courage of the Egyptian people who have pursued their campaign for democratic change peacefully and with dignity. Violence can never be accepted, and peaceful but real and lasting transformation delivering deep democracy is what now Egypt requires,” she said.