Brussels, 01/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Stefan Füle (neighbourhood policy) will meet the new Tunisian minister for foreign affairs, Ahmed Ounaïes, on Wednesday 2 February in Brussels. Ashton is expected to visit Tunisia “in the next couple of weeks”, announced the EU high representative for foreign affairs on Monday evening after the Foreign Affairs Council. The visit of the Tunisian minister to Brussels will mainly deal with seeing “how we can build up the offer for aid the EU has made, in particular on the electoral support we have offered” but other measures planned for supporting democratic and economic reforms will also be discussed, explained Ashton's spokesperson on Tuesday to the press.
The EU (in this case the Commission) is expecting the Tunisians to give a number of indications. The “Mingarelli Mission” (the name of the director-general who went to Tunis last week) returned to Brussels with the feeling that the country was in the middle of reorganising itself. Meetings took place with ministers responsible for the economy and the presidents of the three ad hoc committees set up to rectify problems in the country and prepare for transition. These meetings facilitated an initial evaluation, which Tunisia would clarify in the next few days. The Commission is preparing to respond to Tunisia's position and will look at making available budgetary resources that have already been defined (€240 million for three years, from 2011 to 2013). The Commission will also look at how it may be necessary to re-adapt and provide more targeting of financial cooperation, in order to help job creation and support business.
Almost €500 million in ongoing projects have benefitted from neighbourhood policy resources and are benefitting from the current envelope. The most urgent task of the European Commission will, however, involve how best to help Tunisians put in place the electoral process that has already been announced. Ad hoc financial support has not been ruled out. Financial support has been promised for a long time to civil society organisations - the most notable example of this was for the Tunisian League of Human Rights, which created a controversy but which has now been released. The good news is that Tunis has agreed to a European election mission being sent out there, something that the old regime would not allow.
EP delegation to Tunis, adoption of a resolution. A delegation of 12 MEPs, headed by José Ignacio Salafranca (EPP, Spain) and Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D, Italy), will travel to Tunisia this week (3-6 February) to assess the political situation and hold meetings with provisional government representatives and those from civil society. It is also expected that the European Parliament, meeting on Wednesday and Thursday for a mini session in Brussels, will adopt a resolution on 3 February on the situation in Tunisia. The adoption of the resolution will be preceded on Wednesday afternoon, by a plenary session debate with Catherine Ashton. (F.B./H.B./transl.fl)