Brussels, 18/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a formal declaration on Monday 18 November, the EU reaffirmed its “support for the transition process in Tunisia” and “urges all players to pursue national dialogue” and to respect the timetable agreed upon.
This same wish forms the basis of the consensus reached by the “Rubayi” (quartette) made up of workers' (UGTT) and employers' (UTICA) unions, the Human Rights League and the order of lawyers, concretised by the signature of a roadmap by the main political parties, including the “Islamists”, but not by the (marginal but significant) party of the interim president. This roadmap brings in a timetable, the implementation of which is being put back every day due to a lack of agreement on a prior point: the resignation of the prime minister and his replacement by a neutral party who is capable of ensuring the quality of the forthcoming elections and the neutrality of the government.
With the democratic opposition parties calling for the timetable to be observed, the EU has also stated its firm belief that “in the interests of the country's democratic transition, it is also vitally important that this process is carried out in full respect of the rules of democratic functioning already approved and that all parties undertake to pursue the objective of a national consensus”.
Despite this ongoing stalemate, the EU seems not to have despaired of the “efforts of all parties involved to ensure the success of this democratic transition process” and “welcomes” these. It also welcomes the “constructive role played by civil society” and the four mediators “as initiators of national dialogue”, a role which “deserves to be highlighted”.
The EU also reaffirms its “support in the face of the main socio-economic challenges” of the country, in “a context of economic vulnerability”. It offers its support, for the long term, for classic cooperation under the association agreement, to include mobility and immigration.
EU also stresses the scale of the “security challenges” faced by Tunisia “against a backdrop of regional instability” and offers its support to “effectively fight terrorism in full respect of the law”. It proposes to help the country to “reinforce its structures and mechanisms”, notably “to ensure the rapid conclusion of investigations into political assassinations and to guarantee fair and transparent trials”. An assessment is underway to “allow the EU to get involved, alongside Tunisia, in a far-reaching reform of the security sector”. (FB/transl.fl)