EU offers Tunisia over €1 billion to stem migration

The European Union has offered Tunisia more than €1 billion to help the North African nation overcome a deep economic crisis that has prompted thousands of migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.

The financial aid package was announced in Tunis on Sunday after Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the prime ministers of Italy and the Netherlands, Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte, met Tunisian President Kais Saied. The proposal still needs support from other EU governments and will be linked to Tunisian authorities passing IMF-mandated reforms.

Von der Leyen said the bloc was ready to raise €150 million in grants “right now” to boost Tunisia’s declining economy, which is suffering from rising commodity prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said a total of €900 million in loans and grants could be mobilized over the long term.

In addition, Europe will this year provide a €105 million grant to support Tunisia’s border management network to “break the cynical business model of smugglers and smugglers”, von der Leyen said. The package nearly triples the block provided so far in migration funding for the North African nation.

The offer of quick financial aid is a boost for Tunisia’s troubled president, but longer-term support is contingent on accepting reforms attached to the $1.9 billion IMF package, a move Saied is trying to postpone until after next year’s presidential election. Used to be.

Saied declined to endorse the IMF loan agreement in October, saying he rejected foreign “dictates” that would further impoverish Tunisians. Tunisian leaders are wary of measures such as reducing energy subsidies and speeding up privatization of state-owned enterprises because they could damage their popularity.

Meloni, who laid the groundwork for the announcement after meeting with Saied on Tuesday, has been pushing Washington and Brussels for months to unblock financial aid for Tunisia. The Italian leader worries that if the North African country’s economy collapses, it will trigger a massive wave of people trying to cross the Mediterranean.

So far this year, more than 53,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by boat, more than double the number for the same period last year – a factor behind the sharp increase in boats leaving Tunisia.

“This agreement was an important step toward building a true partnership to address the migration crisis,” Meloni said on Sunday.

In February, Saied incited racist violence against people from sub-Saharan African countries, saying they were part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia’s demographic profile.

His rhetoric has apparently softened in order to improve the image of the deal with the EU. Visiting a camp on Saturday, he criticized the treatment of migrants as “mere numbers”. However, he added, “It is unacceptable for us to play policeman for other countries”.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights think-tank criticized the EU visit on Sunday as “an attempt to exploit (Tunisia’s) political, economic and social fragility”.

The financial aid offer comes days after European governments agreed a long-awaited migration package that will speed up asylum processing and make it easier for member states to deport people denied asylum.

The package also includes proposals to support education, energy and trade ties with the country, including investing in Tunisia’s renewable energy network and allowing Tunisian students to participate in the student exchange program Erasmus+.

The presence of the Dutch prime minister, usually a voice for economically conservative leaders in the 27-strong bloc, indicated that approval of the package would not be as difficult to obtain as other foreign funding requests. The Netherlands, while not a frontline country like Italy, has also experienced a rise in so-called secondary migration, as many people arriving in southern Europe travel and apply for asylum in northern countries.

Calling the talks “excellent”, Rutte said that “the window is open, we all have the opportunity to promote this relationship between the EU and Tunisia”.