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The European Union and Tunisia signed on Sunday a “strategic partnership” that includes preventing human trafficking and tightening borders amid a spike in small boats leaving the North African country for Europe.
It comes after weeks of talks between the two parties about the EU providing around 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) in aid to boost crisis-hit Tunisia’s economy and help stem the flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Tunisia’s national debt is ballooning and the country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a $1.9 bilion bailout. However, the funds have stalled since October after Tunisia’s populist President Kais Saied said he rejected the terms, including on subsidy cuts and the reduction of the public wage bill. Last month, the Tunisian leader proposed taxing the wealthy to generate funds for the economy so the government can avoid having to agree to the terms with the “foreign diktats” of the IMF.
The North African country is a popular sea gateway to the Mediterranean for migrants who are looking to reach the shores of Europe, with Italy being one of the main destinations. More than 75,065 migrant boats reached Italy by July 14 so far this year, compared to 31,920 in the same period last year, official data showed. More than half of the arrivals this year were from Tunisia, which has overtaken Libya as the main start point for the migrant crossings.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met in Tunis with Saied over the weekend, agreeing on Sunday to finalize the “strategic partnership,” which was initially announced June 11.
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and Secretary of State of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Mounir Ben Rjiba signed the memorandum of understanding, the commission said in a statement on Sunday.
The memorandum covers macroeconomic stability, trade and investment, green energy transition, people-to-people contacts and migration, the commission added. Von der Leyen said that the EU would allocate 100 million euros ($112 million) to Tunisia to help it combat illegal boat crossings.
Speaking on Twitter about the agreement, Rutte said, "It contains agreements on disrupting the business model of people smugglers and human traffickers, strengthening border control and improving registration and return. All essential measures for bolstering efforts to stop irregular migration.”
Al-Monitor has contacted the European Commission for more detail on the agreement.
Separately on Monday, an EU official told Reuters that Tunisia could still receive another 900 million euros ($1 billion) to help its ailing economy, but further talks will depend on the IMF deal.
“Macro assistance is still on the table but this needs to meet IMF conditions,” the EU official said. “Tunisia says it may not need an IMF agreement so we will see in Q3.”
Experts told Al-Monitor in June that European aid and pressure on the IMF deal is unlikely to allay migration concerns across the continent.
