The launch of the European Neighbourhood Policy has increased the relevance of the concept of “the EU as a normative power”. Egypt is an important test case to assess whether the EU can become a normative power in its Southern neighbourhood. In this context, this article attempts to evaluate the impact of ENP in the areas of democratization and proliferation of human rights in Egypt. It examines the political developments in the country before and after the inception of the Action Plan and points out the obstacles curtailing the EU’s normative role in Egypt. It argues that domestic factors and the credibility of conditionality are two possible explanations for the limitations to the EU’s normative power in Egypt as well as in its Southern neighbourhood in general