Brussels, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Tunisian government, Hamadi Jebali, and six members of his team will hold meetings on 2 February in Brussels with the main leaders of the European institutions (the presidents of the Council, Commission and Parliament, as well as Catherine Ashton and various European commissioners).
His visit is the first semi-official contact between the new Tunisian government and the European institutions. It will provide Prime Minister Jebali (from the Islamist Ennahda party) with the opportunity of clarifying his aims with regard to democracy in the country - aims which have provoked a number of concerns both within and outside Tunisia. Recent decisions taken regarding the media have sparked strong reactions in the country, obliging the prime minister to revise a practice of appointing the heads of public organisations which contravenes freedom of the press. Jebali is also accused of not providing a sufficiently strong reaction to the aggressiveness displayed by certain Salafist currents (currents harking back to the past). Over the past few days he has been seeking to provide reassurances to Tunisian public opinion and explain to the EU what he hopes to achieve. The EU is the country's main partner. (FB/transl.fl)