migration
Trouble over migration pact: Tunisia rejects EU financial aid
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied “does not accept anything that resembles grace or alms.” photo
© Khaled Nasraoui/dpa
The EU is hoping for support from Tunisia in the fight against irregular migration across the Mediterranean. New statements from Tunis are now causing unrest in Brussels.
Tunisia “does not accept anything that resembles grace or alms,” said President Kais Saied, according to a statement from the presidential office on Monday evening. The EU’s announcements would contradict the previously signed agreement in principle.
What exactly Tunis sees as a contradiction was not communicated. The statements on Tuesday also caused unrest in Brussels – especially because Saied says he is not rejecting the EU payment because of the “small amount”.
A senior EU official said that Saied may be concerned about the fact that he had been promised an aid package worth one billion euros, but that the EU Commission had initially only announced a disbursement of around 127 million euros.
They had seen the reports, but didn’t know exactly what Saied was talking about, said another EU official. We are now following up on this. Brussels also said that it was premature to declare the agreements a failure – even if they had not yet made much progress in implementation.
This is what the EU offered Tunsia
Tunisia is one of the main transit countries for refugees from Africa heading to Europe. The EU Commission announced a week ago that it would pay Tunisia around 127 million euros to reduce migration across the country and stimulate the weakening economy.
Around 67 million euros of this are to be made available in connection with a controversial migration agreement. There is also 60 million euros in budget support so that the country can recover from the Corona crisis.
Saied’s statements raise doubts as to whether the controversial agreement on migration between Brussels and Tunis will continue to exist. As part of a corresponding declaration of intent from July, Tunisia is to receive financial aid of up to 900 million euros and in return it will take stronger action against smugglers and illegal crossings. The EU wants to ensure that fewer smuggling boats come to Italy via Tunisia.