The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, rejected the financial help offered by the European Union in September. He stated that the sum was insufficient and violated an agreement struck three months ago.
This decision by Saied has the potential to disrupt the “strategic partnership” announced in July to battle people traffickers and tighten borders. The announcement of this alliance coincided with a substantial rise in the number of boats leaving the North African nation to get to Europe.
As part of the agreement to combat illegal immigration from Africa to Europe, the European Commission announced one month ago that it would provide Tunisia with financial assistance totaling 133 million dollars (127 million euros).
“Tunisia rejects what the EU announced, not because it is a small amount… but because the proposal conflicts with the memorandum of understanding signed in July,” Saied added.
As part of the agreement reached in July, Tunisia was promised assistance for one billion euros, which would support the country’s struggling economy, restore the state’s finances, and address the refugee situation.
The reduced sum that Europe declared ten days ago has, on the other hand, disappointed Tunisian officials who are working to repair the country’s public finances and prompted worries among credit rating agencies that the government may default on its foreign obligations in the coming months.
The two parties’ disagreement has occurred at the same time as an unprecedented number of migrants from Tunisia and other parts of North Africa have arrived on the island of Lampedusa in Italy.
The visit of a group from the European Commission to examine the particulars of the migration accord was scheduled to take place last week in Tunisia, but it was postponed.
It also denied admission to five members of the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament for discussions concerning the political situation in Tunisia last month, claiming that it would not tolerate involvement in its affairs and that it would not accept meddling in its affairs.
Several European nations, notably Germany, oppose the immigration accord because it adequately addresses concerns about tablets and the current political climate. Upon Saied’s seizure of power, which the opposition describes as a coup, the Tunisian parliament was dissolved, and Saied began administering the country by decree.
