Brussels, 03/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to a European Commission statement, Tunisia and the European Union formally signed a mobility partnership agreement on Monday 3 March. A joint statement was signed by Cecilia Malmström, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Tahar Cherif, Tunisian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, and the Ministers of the ten EU member states involved in the Partnership: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This partnership should have been signed at the beginning of December but the two parties explained that this postponement was due to technical problems and not any deep-seated difficulties.
The Commission explained that, “this Mobility Partnership aims to facilitate the movement of people between the EU and Tunisia and to promote a common and responsible management of existing migratory flows, including by simplifying procedures for granting visas”.
On the subject of irregular migration, besides opening negotiations on an agreement for the readmission of irregular migrants, the EU and Tunisia will also cooperate in preventing “human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants and to improve the security of identity and travel documents and border management”.
The Commission explained that in addition to security and mobility questions, the partnership also intends “to improve the information available to qualified Tunisian citizens on employment, education and training opportunities available in the EU and also to make mutual recognition of professional and university qualifications easier”. In 2012, 125 594 requests for Schengen visas were submitted to consulates of Schengen countries in Tunisia, an increase of 14% over the figure for 2010. France receives the most visa requests (81,180), followed by Italy and Germany with around 10,000 requests each. According to Eurostat data on residence permits, 343,963 Tunisian nationals were legally resident in the EU in 2012, over half of them in France (185,010), with 122,438 living in Italy and 20,421 in Germany).
The Mobility Partnership with Tunisia is the second of its kind with a country bordering the Mediterranean, following the signature of the first such Partnership with Morocco in June 2013. It follows those entered into with the Republic of Moldova and Cape Verde in 2008, with Georgia in 2009, with Armenia in 2011 and with Azerbaijan in 2013. Negotiations for a similar agreement are also in progress with Jordan. (SP)