Updated

Senior diplomats from the European Union's member states are discussing how the 28-nation bloc will respond to a week of bloody violence in Egypt that has left nearly 900 people dead.

The meeting of ambassadors in Brussels on Monday came a day after top European Union officials said the bloc will "urgently review" its relations with Egypt.

The diplomats are expected to lay the groundwork for a coordinated EU response which would then be finalized at an emergency meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers, possibly by the end of the week.

The EU is a major source of aid, loans, business and tourists for Egypt. The EU and its member states last year pledged a combined 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in loans and aid for Egypt.