Tunisia: EU proposes ‘enhanced partnership’ without mentioning conditions

The European Union (EU) on Sunday offered Tunisia a “strengthened partnership” accompanied by promises of bailouts, without mentioning the political conditions for its support of the debt-strangled, migration-important country.

“It is in our common interest to strengthen our relationship and invest in[Tunisia’s]stability and prosperity, which is why we are here,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who came to Tunisia in the company of Italian Prime Ministers Georgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Ministers Mark Rutte.

After an interview with President Qais Syed, the official announced Brussels’ intention to provide the country with “macro-financial assistance that could reach 900 million euros.” On its website, the Commission indicated that it would be a new European loan that would “follow” a $2 billion IMF loan under negotiation.

Brussels “could provide additional assistance in the amount of 150 million euros, which will be invested now in the budget of Tunisia,” Ursula von der Leyen added. The aid is part of a “five-point package” that she hopes will be the subject of a bilateral agreement by the end of June and the next European summit.

“What about restoring the democratic course?”

Europe, “the first trading partner and the first investor”, “supported Tunisia’s path to democracy since 2011 (and the revolution that overthrew the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ed.), a long and difficult path,” the European leader stressed. not to mention the current political crisis in the country.

President Said, who gave himself full powers in the summer of 2021, is accused of “authoritarian drift” and infringement of rights and freedoms by the opposition and NGOs. Since the beginning of February, about twenty oppositionists have been imprisoned on charges of “conspiracy against state security”. According to Amnesty International, they are the target of a “witch hunt”.

Andrea Cellino, an analyst at the Swiss Institute for the Middle East MEIS in Geneva, lamented the position of the Europeans: “What about reforms and the restoration of the democratic path? It looks like money for nothing “.

Tunisia strangled by debt of 80% of GDP

In recent months, Europe has made no secret of its concerns about the country of the Maghreb, and its head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, even mentioned the “risk of collapse.” Tunisia is financially strangled by a debt of 80% of its GDP, which leads to a constant shortage of food, such as flour and rice, purchased by the state.

Negotiations with the IMF have been underway for months, but talks stalled after President Syed’s rejection of reforms, including the restructuring of about a hundred heavily indebted state-owned companies and the removal of some government subsidies for basic products.

The program proposed by the EU provides for increased investment in Tunisia, especially in digital technology and renewable energy, as well as the expansion of the European Erasmus student exchange program to Tunisia.

100 million euros for border control

One of the important aspects of the European “package” concerns the fight against the “cynical business” of illegal immigration, for which the EU will provide “100 million euros to Tunisia this year to control its borders, search and rescue” migrants, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Georgia Meloni, for whom this was the second trip to Tunisia in five days, said she was “satisfied” with the European approach, which offers “a true partnership to overcome the migration crisis and the development challenge” in Tunisia, while Qais Said was very harsh on about the arrival of “hordes of illegal immigrants”

“Deal”, denounces NGOs

Italy, which has a coast less than 150 km from the southern shore of the Mediterranean, is concerned about the further acceleration of the arrival of migrants from Tunisia. The Italian leader said she had discussed with Kais Said “the forthcoming holding of an international conference on migration” in Rome.

According to the latest UNHCR statistics, since the beginning of the year, 51,215 migrants (+154% y/y) have arrived in Italy illegally, including more than 26,000 from Tunisia. About a thousand people died or went missing as a result of shipwrecks.

The Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), a Tunisian NGO, condemned the visit to Europe in a statement Sunday as a “deal” to “give money” to Tunisia in exchange for increased surveillance of its borders.