refugees
Faeser: Discussions on migration and sea rescue in Tunis
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (l) talks to her Tunisian counterpart Kamel Fekih in Tunis. photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Tunisia’s President Saied does not see his country in the role of border police for Europe. However, he is open to talks about how to prevent crossings with overcrowded boats.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) traveled to Tunisia to talk to the government about irregular boat migrants, deportations and job opportunities for Tunisian professionals in Germany. She is visiting the North African country together with her French counterpart Gérald Darmanin.
Tunisia is currently one of the most important transit countries for irregular migrants who make their way to Italy in unsafe boats. Tunisians are also in the boats, hoping for a better future in Europe. Repatriations to Tunisia worked, “but not to the extent that we would like,” said Faeser in Tunis.
Before her departure, Faeser said: “We want the human rights of refugees to be protected and the terrible deaths in the Mediterranean to stop.” With so-called talent partnerships, the aim is to offer young people opportunities in the European Union.
Talks with President and Minister of the Interior
On Sunday, Faeser, who was traveling to Tunisia for the first time in her capacity, visited a federal police project office in Tunis. Talks with President Kais Saied and Interior Minister Kamel Fekih are scheduled for Monday in the capital. In her first conversation with her counterpart, Faeser emphasized the “common goals and interests”. Fekih said that this also includes German direct investments.
A week ago, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Tunis. She promised the country, which was suffering from economic problems, financial aid of up to 900 million euros. 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 meetings.
Meloni has long been pushing for agreements with Tunisia to stop the boats with migrants that are leaving there at an early stage. Human rights organizations take a critical view of this, also because of the increasing pressure on government critics in Tunisia. In February, President Saied triggered a wave of racist attacks with statements about “hordes of illegal immigrants”. In the first five months of this year, 773 boats with around 26,000 migrants on board were counted. In the same period last year, there were over 200 departures and almost 4,000 refugees and migrants who set out from Tunisia to Europe.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that the talks in Tunis would also deal with sea rescue. On Wednesday, a fishing boat completely overcrowded with 500 to 700 migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Greece. 104 people could be saved, 78 were found dead.
Federal police are working with Tunisian authorities
The Federal Police has had a project in Tunisia since 2015. It works with the National Guard, Border Police and National Police. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the aim is to “establish effective police structures based on the rule of law and human rights principles”. Priorities include reducing irregular migration, sea rescue, combating terrorism and serious and organized crime. According to the federal police, the Tunisian security forces have been supported in recent years with vehicles for border protection, night vision devices and fast inflatable boats that were procured in Tunisia.
Unlike Morocco, Tunisia allows collective deportations by charter flight. However, there are occasional difficulties in identifying undocumented Tunisian citizens.