Illegal migration: Europe is courting Tunisia

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Tunisia and the EU want to work more closely together in the area of ​​migration, among other things. The EU wants to limit the number of migrants entering Europe via the Mediterranean.

06/11/2023 | 00:23 minutes

The EU Commission has promised financial aid of up to 900 million euros to Tunisia, which is badly hit economically. In view of the increasing number of Mediterranean migrants, Brussels also hopes to work together with Tunisia to take more effective action against people smugglers and illegal crossings.

For example, a good 100 million euros will be made available for search and rescue operations and the repatriation of migrants, announced EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday in Tunis after talks with President Kais Saied. This corresponds to three times the amount with which Brussels supported Tunis last year on average.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also attended the meeting. Meloni in particular has long been pushing for an agreement with Tunisia to stop the migrant boats that are leaving there early on on their way to southern Italy and thus to the European Union. The ultra-right politician spoke of an “important first step”.

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Meloni had already visited the Tunisian President earlier this week to talk about migration. In an interview on Friday evening, she expressed the hope that an aid package from the EU could be brought with her on Sunday.

According to the EU border agency Frontex, the number of irregular entries into the EU via Tunisia has recently risen sharply. Highly indebted Tunisia, on the other hand, is hoping for financial support from the EU because of the ongoing economic crisis in the country. The population is struggling with rising prices and food shortages as well as high unemployment.

In view of the worsening economic crisis, many Tunisians no longer see any prospects in their own country, especially since the country’s political leadership is unable to find any solutions to the problems. More and more Tunisians are therefore crossing over to Italy from the coast of their homeland.

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In addition, many migrants from other African countries are currently feeling great pressure to leave Tunisia. Hostilities and racist attacks have increased sharply since President Saied announced tougher action against them in February and accused them of bringing violence and crime into the country. This is one of the reasons why many people want to translate to Europe as quickly as possible.
According to official figures from the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, more than 53,800 migrants have reached Italy via the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year – in the same period last year there were around 21,700.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the majority of migrants registered in Italy came from Tunisia.

In order to get the support of transit countries, Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly suggested paying countries like Tunisia to consistently prevent migrant boats from leaving for Italy and thus for the European Union – similar to what the EU agreed with Turkey in 2016 had.

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The pact between Brussels and Ankara led to a sharp drop in refugees arriving in Europe.
On Thursday, the EU interior ministers a reform of the European asylum rules agreed. In the future, migrants from countries that – like Tunisia – are considered safe should come to reception facilities after crossing the border and remain there under prison-like conditions while their prospects of staying are examined.

If the people do not receive asylum, they should be sent back immediately. It is possible that the EU Parliament will push through changes to the planned reform.

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