migration
Tunisia rejects EU financial aid: doubts about migration deal
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied “does not accept anything that resembles grace or alms.” photo
© Khaled Nasraoui/dpa
The EU is planning generous aid for Tunisia to support the country with irregular migration. Surprisingly, President Saied now rejects this: “Tunisia and its people don’t want any pity.”
Tunisia “does not accept anything that resembles grace or alms,” President Kais Saied said in a meeting with Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar. “Tunisia rejects what the European Union has announced in recent days,” Said said on Facebook, according to a statement from the presidential office.
“Not because of the small amount,” but because the proposal contradicts the previously signed declaration of intent between Tunisia and the EU. What exactly Tunis sees as a contradiction was not stated.
This is what the EU offered Tunsia
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. Tunisia is one of the main transit countries for refugees from Africa heading to Europe.
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 Commission wants to ensure that fewer smuggling boats come to Italy via Tunisia.
Doubts also arose about the agreement when Tunisia refused entry to a delegation from the European Parliament in mid-September. This behavior was “unprecedented” since the revolution in Tunisia in 2011, the delegation said afterwards. There was no justification for the step from the Tunisian side.
According to the news site “Politico”, representatives of the government in Tunis are said to have expressed anger at EU MPs who had criticized regressions with regard to democracy in Tunisia. According to critics, Saied is ruling there in an increasingly authoritarian style.
“In the eyes of our people, the world’s treasures do not correspond to a single grain of our sovereignty,” said Saied, according to a report by the state agency TAP on Monday evening. “Tunisia and its people do not want pity, but will reject something if they are not respected.”
Communication from the Presidential Office on Facebook TAP report Communication from the EU Delegation