Brussels, 24/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU stands ready to provide direct aid to Tunisia to help restart economic and social activities and also to prepare the elections that have already been announced. It is waiting, however, for the local authorities to formally set out their needs. ECHO, the Commission's humanitarian wing, feels that sending emergency humanitarian aid would not be useful as Tunisia receives regular supplies and various heads of European companies based in the country have said that business has been resumed. There is no longer any threat of armed attack on the ground, with most of the groups which offered varying degrees of support for the former president (the presidential guard, militias from the former sole party and prisoners released by police loyal to former president Ben Ali) having been brought under control. Peaceful street action continues, with demonstrations calling for total “decontamination” of the political system.
The EU is hoping for a swift return to normality and has prepared a raft of measures. The Commission will put its detailed proposals to the Committee of Permanent Representatives this week. Funding will be made available from the European Initiative for Democracy and the Protection of Human Rights to assist the transition, with direct aid for the three committees set up in Tunisia - one on institutional reform, a second on the crisis which resulted in the deaths of around 100 people, according to unofficial figures, and a third on the extent of the corruption of members of the “family” (the family of the ousted president) and probably also the former single party which operated a system of patronage in practices that bordered on the illegal and intimidation.
The EU is also ready to provide assistance in the preparation of elections - first of all, a presidential election, followed by a general election - and has offered to send observers if the Tunisian authorities are happy for that to happen.
The most important thing, in the medium- and long-terms, will be opening discussions with the Tunisian government to review the priorities of the National Indicative Programme (NIP, which has a budget of €240 million), already set by the previous government. Similar steps will be taken on trade. It is unlikely, however, that there will be any significant shifts. Tunisia, it should be borne in mind, elected not to change its economic policy, keeping in place the prime minister, himself an economist, and the international cooperation minister responsible for economic chapter negotiations, the business policy minister, Afif Chelbi, and, above all, the minister for foreign affairs, Kamel Morjane, with whom the EU is due to discuss freedoms and setting up a political dialogue which had proved a stumbling bock to negotiations on the “enhanced status”. Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Štefan Füle, who has responsibility in this area, was unequivocal when addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg: the EU will not ignore this human rights issue. The new Tunisian government, which now contains members of the opposition, has granted a general amnesty and released all political prisoners. The political situation remains fragile for all that.
The EU has begun looking for information on the assets of the family of the erstwhile president. France has decided to freeze any monies held in its financial institutions. The other member states are expected to follow suit and a discussion has already been held in the Council's “MaMa” (Maghreb-Mashraq) group. In the first few days of this week, the MaMa group will finalise its recommendations which will be put to Coreper, before a Council decision is taken on 31 January, or possibly earlier, by means of the written procedure, should it be necessary. If the monies sought were to be transferred to a tax haven, it would be much more difficult to find them.
According to information received from an informal source, aid to compensate the losses suffered by the tourism sector, a substantial source of foreign currency for Tunisia, is being considered. The Commission is waiting to discuss this with the new Tunisian authorities along with all the emergency measures it is ready to take, “as soon as we have an interlocutor”. In Tunis, the government, not yet complete and still under attack from the political fringes, has more important things to do to bring calm and ensure full resumption of work and studies than to negotiate with its foreign partners. (F.B./transl.rt)